A Murder In The Hamptons
by Where's Beckett
Summary: Part 2 Set one month after and follows the "Cold War Murders". Rick and Kate are settling in on their new life as a couple. Trying to swim in new uncharted waters When a friend and neighbor of Castle is found murdered and the local police ask for the help from the pair
1. Chapter 1

**OH NO! not me again?**

**All the rules apply. I do not, under any circumstance, own any of the players here**

Castle, Beckett, Lanie, Ryan, Esposito all belong to  
ABC, Marlow, Disney, someone beside me

**I do this for fun. Not profit**

**This story begins one month AFTER Castle and Beckett got together in "A Cold War Murder"  
You need to read it first because some things will not make sense**

**Even when they try to have some alone time, they can't**

* * *

**Castle's Hampton s Seaside Home**

**Saturday Morning**

His internal alarm clock had kicked in as usual just before dawn broke. When he woke up today he was blessed again to find Katherine Beckett beside him. More accurately, not just beside him, but curled up partially on top of him with her head on his shoulder and her arm wrapped over his stomach.

He carefully slid away from her, lifting her head gently and then back onto the pillow so as to not wake her from her much needed slumber. She only made a soft groan then settled back down on the sheets.

He likes to allow her to sleep late whenever possible. Especially since, during the work week, she never gets to sleep late or even get a full night's sleep at all. Here at the Hamptons house she can sleep late, take naps, go to bed early. Do any and all of what her heart desires

He stays still beside her for several minutes just enjoying her presence. He thinks back to how long he wanted this. How badly he wanted this. How long he desired her to belong to him. Not like some object that you just own or possess, but as a precious gift to be loved, appreciated, and protected.

Oh! How he loves her and wants to protect her.

He finally slides gently off the bed and then silently moves to the kitchen to begin his morning ritual of breakfast prep. Trying to not make any disturbing sounds he starts the coffee maker and brings out all the food preparation items and places them on the counter ready to begin his work.

Since he and Kate came here Thursday night after she got off work, to start a four day weekend, they have shopped, walked, played together, and spent time just doing nothing but enjoying each others company.

They began yesterday having coffee and a lite breakfast on the lawn overlooking the ocean. The middle of the day was spent shopping on the strand. Then they went to Fisherman's Warf for lunch. Afterwards they went walking along the beach looking for seashells that had washed up on the shore. Finishing the day he took her to an evening show at the local dinner playhouse. Then back home to spend the night wrapped into each other

Today he is planning for a day on the water with a friend, on that friend's sailboat. The neighbor has planned an all day sail excursion from the dock up the coast then return before nightfall.

Castle is looking forward to the day

* * *

The morning breaks across the long line of windows filling the bedroom wall. The early sunshine passes from the wall toward the bed where Kate is still trying to sleep. Her level of rest has never been as good as she gets today. Or yesterday or even the day before that.

Each new day brings more and more levels of pleasure to her body, her soul and especially her heart

When the morning brilliance finally reaches her eyes she has no choice but to awaken and begin another day. The level of rest inside her body makes her feel like a new person and she is enjoying it as much as possible

Her arms stretch up over her head to the leather covered cushioned headboard above as her toes point to the foot of the bed. She is so long when she does this that her body extends well beyond the limits of the mattress below her feet.

Anyone watching her now would compare Kate to a sleek leopard preparing to pounce on her unsuspecting prey.

Kate slides out from under the covers and moves to the windows to get a little more of the warming sunshine. She briefly closes her eyes again to focus on the warmth when she hears a sound from the other part of the house.

She turns her attention in the direction of the noise and as she leaves the master suite the aroma of fresh coffee and bacon starts to fill her senses.

There is more to the freshness of morning here than in the city. She can even hear the sound of the ocean outside the partially open windows. The call of the gulls as they swoop low over the water gathering a morning catch of unsuspecting fish. The fresh smell that emanates from the salt water just outside his property

As she moves closer to the kitchen her stomach begins to growl caused by the onslaught of flavors that the nose tells the brain to expect soon

She stops at the kitchen door and leans against the jam. Folding her arms across her chest she smiles at the sight before her. The guy who she has claimed as her own madly performing his regular morning task

She spends the next few moments just enjoying the view of this man as he moves gracefully around the room gathering seasonings and basic goods in his morning dance of breakfast preparation just for her

She listens as he quietly hums a tune. Not sure of exactly what song he has in his head but it is not important right now. What is important to her is the fact that he seems happy with his life right now and she is happy as well

Standing, watching him she gets to thinking about the past. Her past. Their past. And now how they went from their past to this place today

Her mind returns to the first time she ever entered Rick Castle's home. She was a hard nosed, driven, by the book cop knocking on his door where she was met by a man with the opposite attitude on life. A man child, dressed in a Laser Tag suit holding a game weapon.

When she was invited in she was amazed at the size and grandeur of his abode. At the same time amused by the fact he is playing a game of laser tag with his teenaged daughter while his mother is lounging around with a mud pack on her face.

How many times had she wished to have the innocence he possessed while her life was filled with horror and murder and then seeing his love for the simple things in life while having the ability to buy the more opulent.

And now she has that joy brought by him. Along with the love he has expressed for her…She still has difficulty accepting it sometimes.

Such as at their arrival the other evening she was spellbound again by the grandeur she saw in this place. Once again she found herself unsure of how and why she was here with him. But every concern that has crossed her mind about this relationship, he has tried to remove with his words but more so with his actions for her

During his preparations, he turns toward the door and sees her standing there. Once again she sees 'The Look' on his face. The look that tells her to remove any doubt, any worry, any concern, or any unfounded insecurity about their relationship. His look full of love and happiness. A look she is growing to accept that. She now knows he has reserved this for her and her alone

The first words she hears for the day "I went to sleep next to the most beautiful woman in the world and the first person I see in the morning is even more radiant"

She blushes at his words as she places her hand beside her temple to cover part of her face "I have on no makeup, my hair is a mess and I need to brush my teeth…"

Her words are cut off when he leans down to kiss her and pull her in tight to his body

She gladly accepts his embrace. She feels herself wanting to keep this up but she also knows the eggs will be ruined if they don't stop. Quick!

"You're going to burn breakfast" she chides him as she pushes him gently away

"I don't really care"

"I do" she reaches up and gives him another quick peck on his lips "anyway, I need coffee"

"On the way, my love" he turns toward the carafe and pours her a cup

After placing her caffeine fix down beside her arm, like he had done for so many years, she gives him that smile she knows he craves "Thank you"

"Always" he smiles and then returns back to the skillet and her breakfast

After they finish the meal he begins the clean up. She turns back toward the bedroom "I'm going to go shower and get ready. You said we are going out on a sailboat today?"

"A forty foot sailboat" He points out "So be ready to work. Every person on board is a crew member and responsible so help get the boat safely to its destination and back home"

"So I will be working? There is no need to put on my bathing suit then?"

"What? No! Wait. Yes. You need to wear that bikini you brought"

She stops mid step and turns back toward him "How do you know I brought a bikini? I might have brought a long one piece…No wait…did you look thru my suitcase?"

"I…uh…I might have accidentally seen what you brought" he knows he has been found out

She walks back over to him and puts her arms around his neck. She leans up and whispers into his ear "Well maybe I brought THAT particular suit to wear for you and you only. Not for out in public"

She can see his eyes lock on hers with wanton desire.

"OH" he responds dejectedly

"What time do we need to be at the docks?" she asks

"UH! Ten, ten thirty. Why?"

She looks at the clock over the stove "Care to join me in the shower then?"

**10:15 AM**

Castle and Beckett pull up and park at the West Hamptons dock, member's only lot. They go around to the trunk of his car and retrieve their bags packed for the trip. The have an extra change of clothes, towels, along with sun tan cream and hats and sun glasses.

As they pulled into the lot they noticed several Hamptons Police cruisers in the spaces close to the boats. Kate almost had to drag Rick to stop him from walking in the direction of the squad cars. She knew he is drawn toward flashing police car lights like a moth is drawn toward an open flame

"Down boy" she kids him as she pulls him in the direction of the boat slips

He whines like a little boy wanting candy from behind the counter "OH, Beckett can't we go see what's going on?"

"NO we can not. I am enjoying my time away from police cars and crimes"

Castle drops his head like a pouting ten year old. The pair walks toward the docks and that is when they see an officer blocking access to the boat slips

"Excuse me officer, we are meeting a friend to go sailing this morning" Castle tells the uniformed man pointing toward the tied up boats

"I'm sorry sir, but there has been an offense and the dock is closed off as a crime scene"

"What type of crime?" Kate wonders

"A double homicide" the officer replies

"My girlfriend…" Castle points to Beckett "is a New York homicide detective"

At which statement Kate pokes Rick in the side "Shut up, Castle" she grits out thru her teeth

An appearance of acknowledgement appears in the officer's face "Are you Richard Castle the mystery writer?"

"Yes. Yes I am" obviously proud he is recognized by a fan

The officer points to Kate "Is this Nikki Heat?"

"NO!" Kate responds. "I am not Nikki Heat"

"Actually this is Detective Kate Beckett. NYPD. She is the model for Nikki"

Castle glances at Beckett who is now giving him the LOOK!

"Please wait here just a moment" the uniformed man walks onto the dock toward the boat slips

"Castle! I'm on vacation. I am NOT getting involved in another department's investigation"

"Beckett, we don't have to get involved. I just want to find out what happened. You know I might use it in my next book"

With a terse response and almost under her breath "Fine"

A moment later the original officer returns along with another man "Hello, I am Chief Brady. I understand that you are a homicide detective Ms. Beckett?"

"Yes! Yes she is" Castle proudly states "And the best in the City"

Again, under her breath "Shut up, Castle"

"Yes chief, I am a detective…on vacation. We are just trying to go sailing with some friends of Castle"

"Who are the friends?"

Rick answers the question "Chad Braxton and Edie Dorsey. It's Chad's boat"

"OH! Mr. Castle I am sorry. That's the names of our victims"


	2. Chapter 2

Chief Brady points toward the dock office where the officers are staging "Could we go over there and talk?"

"Of course" Castle answers

The three move toward the office. Kate and Rick are still carrying their bags over their shoulders. When they arrive inside the office the chief begins

"Mr. Castle I have read most of your books and I have enjoyed them very much" the officer looks at Kate "Now I understand that this is New York Police Detective Beckett of homicide?"

Beckett answers "Yes Chief"

"…and you are…Nikki Heat?"

Again Beckett bristles. She still gets a little emotional when someone uses that name to describe her. "No Chief, I am not Nikki. She is a figment of Rick's very vivid imagination"

"But you are here…with Mr. Castle" The chief glances between them "And you don't look like a figment today"

Rick tries to interrupt the conversation "Chief, when I first wrote Heat Wave, Kate was just my model for the character and my partner"

"I see things changed?"

"Yeah they did. So chief, how can Beckett and I help you?" Trying to change the subject to something Beckett will be less uncomfortable with

The chief looks back to Castle "How do you two know our victims?"

Castle responds to the question "Chad lives two doors down from me and I only met his girlfriend earlier this year when he brought her by one night at dinner"

Kate realizes that she has never met either of the two victims. She only had heard Rick talk about them in passing conversation. Again this brings her to wonder exactly what all took place here in the Hamptons before she came along

"What can you tell me about them?"

"Chad works at a brokerage house in the city and I believe Edie was a law clerk or legal secretary at one of the larger firms in New York"

"Do you know of any reason either one of them would be a target?" The chief asks

"TARGET?" Beckett asks "Do you think they were targeted and not a just robbery gone wrong or maybe a simple break-in?

"No! The way they were killed and the fact the boat was not trashed leads us to believe that this was a targeted hit"

The police chief looks at Kate "Ms. Beckett you are a homicide investigators. Would you be so kind as to help me with this investigation? I've never worked a homicide before and the mayor is already calling wanting a status update. Wealthy resident being killed is not good for business"

Castle looks over at Beckett and he can tell she is not sure about how to answer. He firmly believes she wants no part of this investigation and he is ready to tell her that he understands and that they can say no and can move on with their weekend together

Inside her head she wants to tell the local police no, but at the same time, her heart wants to help Castle get closure and find his neighbor's killer

"Fine Chief. We will help" she finally answers causing Rick to look at her questioningly

"I can hear a 'however' in your voice" Brady responds

"Chief, I respect your position here and do not want to be overbearing. In the city, I am senior lead detective and I am accustomed to giving orders but Rick and I just started dating and this is our first weekend together alone" she looks at his face then continues her statement "And I don't want to spend all day, every day chasing leads. So I will help you but understand that Castle and I will do what we can, but most of the heavy lifting will still be on you and your department"

"Great. Perfect" the chief responds "So where do we begin?"

"Can Castle and I go look at the crime scene?"

"Sure. This way" Brady points toward the pier and they walk out of the dock manager's office

Rick turns to the chief "let us put our bags back in the car first and we will be right there"

The chief acknowledges the statement and he walks back onto the pier and out to the boats

After dropping the carry on bags beck into the trunk of Castle's car, Rick and Kate start walking toward the boats

"Kate. I thought you would say no to this"

"Castle. This was your neighbor. I figured that you would want to know what happened to him" she pauses then finishes her statement "and I can help do that"

"You are willing to give up part of your vacation so we can know what happened to a friend?"

She reaches out and links her fingers into his, then looks him squarely in his eyes "Yeah, I guess I am"

"I love you Kate"

"Back at ya' mister" she responds as she squeezes his fingers

As the pair walk up the ramp they are handed gloves and shoe covers. The officer notes their arrival in his crime scene log

Having been to numerous crime scenes Castle lays back a little letting his girlfriend take the lead as she is accustomed to doing.

They step onto the boat from the dock and she immediately looks around the deck area. After several minutes of covering the deck area, the pair go through the hatch and into the lounge. This is where the bodies still are on the floor. The local medical examiner, Dr. Dale Jensen, is still completing his initial examination. Beckett and Castle are both taking mental notes of what they see in the room

"Everything looks in place" Rick comments "I have been on this very boat several times before today. I am not seeing anything out of place. Except maybe the bar area has been changed"

Castle pauses in his statement when he steps around the bar looking for anything out of place.

"What has changed Castle?" Kate asks Rick

"The bar is different somehow. Not real sure?"

Kate walks up to the medical examiner "Excuse me…Dr. Jensen, I am Detective Kate Beckett NYPD" Knowing she must maintain protocol pertaining to contamination of evidence she does not offer her hand

The older man looks up from his examination of the two victims. He sees that the two standing here looking like they are more interested in going sailing than working a murder case. He considers their appearance not appropriate to be at a crime scene. He considers these two invaders not worthy of his attention

"Yes, detective, the chief informed me that you would be jumping into our investigation" Sounding a little put out by the presence of an outsider he continues "I don't have anything yet, it will be some time after I get them back to the lab before I will have my report"

"Yes doctor, we do understand. All I need right now is preliminary time and cause of death"

"I estimate time of death between midnight and 2:00AM and the cause is most likely the 9 mm bullet wound in the back of each of their heads"

"This looks like an execution?" Rick comments to Kate

"The way the bodies are staged and the single shot in the back of the head is classic mob hit" Beckett comments to Castle

The ME looks up to Beckett and Castle as they continue their conversation between themselves. His appearance softens a little as he can tell their knowledge seems complete and their interest in the case is sincere.

He watches as the pair begin looking around the room and start discussion what they are seeing instead of being focused on the victim like he has seen before from amateur sleuths

He then comments to the pair "That is my initial thoughts as well. If you can let me get them to my lab I will try to give you more information in a few hours"

"Thank you doctor" Castle states then returns his attention to the rest of the room

"Castle, are you noticing anything out of place from the last time you were here?"

"I am not sure. Something seems different, but you have to remember this boat originally belonged to Todd Green, my next door neighbor. After he died his widow, Sara sold it to Chad. He and his girlfriend Edie, fixed it up some. Changed a few things. But I don't see much changed"

Kate leans in close to Rick "Did you say Sara Green? Isn't that the woman your mother told you were single and you would be attending her single's party?"

"UH?...Yeah…I think so. Yeah"

A small tinge of green eyed monster appears inside Kate

Kate makes another sweep of the room then turns to Rick "Castle, let's let the Crime Scene Investigators do their job then we can then go over the information later at the police station"

Beckett turns to the medical examiner and speaks to get his attention "Dr. Jensen"

The man, who is now standing beside the bodies writing his report, looks at the duo "Yes detective?"

"Castle and I are leaving. If you find anything really unusual would you please call us" Otherwise, I will leave you alone to do your work and will read your summary when it's finished"

The medical professional appreciates Beckett's professionalism. It is something he does not always experience

"Yes ma'am I will call. You are staying at Mr. Castle's estate. Correct?"

Kate is taken back a little by the doctor calling Rick's weekend home an 'Estate'

"UH. Yeah we are at Rick's. Yes we will be there. Thank you doctor. I will talk to you later?"

On the dock they go looking for the local chief where they find him again inside the dock manager's office

Beckett speaks to the police chief "Chief Brady, we looked over the crime scene. Castle has been on that boat before and we are going to go back to his place to make some notes. Will you let us know when you get the autopsy and CSU reports? We can go over them once we have some more data"

"Fine detective, Mr. Castle. It will probably be later today or even early tomorrow morning before we get any results. In the mean time I will have my officers continue their canvas of the area and if that produces any new information, I will send it over to you"

"Fine" Beckett responds

Rick and Kate leave the boat docks and are walking back to the parking lot to get into Castle's car. They are now walking hand in hand with Kate holding Rick's fingers very tightly

"Castle, this might take some effort to solve. We may need to get Ryan and Esposito to do some backgrounds on our victims"

"We'll call them when we get back to the house and get this started"

The ride back to Castle's home is quiet but as soon as they walk inside Kate turns and wraps her arms around Rick. "I wish I had not offered to do this"

"Why? What's wrong Kate? You have worked cases worse than this one"

"It's just they were your friends and neighbors and that always makes it harder. For you I mean"

"Well, I have an idea of something that might take our minds off of this"

He begins pulling her into the living room and she just smiles as she goes with him.

"Would that be an activity that you had already promised for the week end?" She follows him happily

"That's a possibility"

He sits down on the end of the couch and pulls her down next to him. He puts his arm around her shoulder and pulls her to his side. "I did say there would be a lot of kissing, didn't I?"

"Yeah you did"

Before long the pair are lying on the couch making out like two high school sophomores. A nice slow, loving, make out session

Neither one realized how tired they were when this session of romance moved from necking to them wrapped together and asleep

Their slumber is broken by the door bell ringing and the sound of someone rapping on the front door

As a cop Kate's body wakes first at the sound of someone wanting entry "Castle…Castle! Someone's at the door" She shakes Rick

He groggily moves off the couch "What?"

"Rick! There's someone at the door"

"OH" he stands and starts toward the entryway. He quickly glances at himself to make sure he is dressed. Kate has sat upright and also makes sure she is dressed as well. Her sleepy brain was not sure how far their session had gone before sleep took over

Rick reaches out and pulls his front door open to come face to face with an attractive, tall, dark blond haired woman dressed in short shorts and a halter top.

"Hey Rick" The woman says in a sultry voice "I noticed your car in the driveway and I thought I would come by and see how you are doing"

"Sara…uh Sara Green. How are you?"

He looks down and notices that she is holding a bottle of wine

"I am great" she lifts the bottle "I thought I would come by and see what you were doing this weekend

Kate Beckett has stood up from the couch and is walking directly to Castle and she is planning to demonstrate, to this woman, exactly WHO Castle is planning on doing this weekend


	3. Chapter 3

There is something trying to crawl out of Kate Beckett that she has never felt inside of herself before.

Hard! Fierce! Deep Seeded! Jealousy!

These are totally new feelings for her. In the past she was able to easily push aside any emotions that came with the men she dated. It was so easy to dismiss the feelings. Let them go, since she, herself, already had one foot out the door in the relationships with men that she didn't love it was a walk in the park to just not get bothered by other women paying attention to her date.

But this is different. Completely different! She does love this man. She is deeply in love with him. Before that fateful, fun filled night in the fallout shelter when they first applied all the love in the world together, she could not imagine a feeling like this even could exist. But it is here and she is going to enjoy each moment of it.

And that enjoyment does not include an outsider getting in a grab of her guy. She does not want any other woman to even glance Rick's way let alone share a glass of wine or share something else with him for that matter.

When Martha was describing this neighbor woman and her intentions toward Castle, Beckett was only slightly unnerved about it. But now with this female cougar standing at the door, showing her fangs along with several of her other enticements and assets and looking at Castle like a choice cut of Prime Rib she is preparing to devour, Kate decides that she will definitely make it known just who belongs to whom in this house. Mark her territory so to speak

This tall, fierce brunette walks up slightly to the right and behind Castle. She wraps her arms around his middle as he moves to his arm to her shoulders. She presses her body firmly into Rick's side making sure this other woman sees exactly where Kate has placed HER assets.

"Hey babe, are we entertaining?" She uses her best sultry and sexy voice. Kate is not sure herself where this emotional high is coming from

Kate Beckett would have given anything to have a camera to record the look on the face of this woman, who was obviously intent on capturing a new boy toy today, but was shot down before her jet even left the hanger.

"OH, UH hi?" the woman speaks questioningly

Beckett reaches out with her hand "Hi, I'm Kate. Kate Beckett. Rick's girlfriend" then Beckett pauses "And maybe more? Real soon?"

This statement from Beckett brings a reaction not just from the neighbor, but Castle as well.

He looks over to Beckett and locks his eyes on her lips then he mouths the word more?'

Sara Green is struck by the comment "I'm sorry? Did you say GIRLFRIEND?"

"Well not out in the open just yet. I mean we are planning on making an announcement real soon. Rick and I have been together for years now but we never used the term. I mean we just started really dating but we are moving toward that for a long time.

The neighbor looks between Castle and Beckett "I see. So you are Nikki Heat?"

Beckett looks at Castle "He did write that book after following me for a while. I am the model for Nikki"

"OH. This explains something"

"What's that?" Kate asks

"That sex scene in the first book…It was very steamy" the woman comments

Kate smiles back "What Rick wrote doesn't hold a candle to the REAL thing" Again Kate moves against his side caressing him with her body

Kate turns her attention back to the guest "So what were you saying before I walked up?" Kate looks at the bottle in the woman's hand "Something about wine?" Beckett steps aside and indicates for the guest to enter "Please, please com in"

Rick thinks that Kate might just have become delusional but he is getting a kick out of her actions right now

When Sara is out of earshot Rick comments "What has gotten into you?" Kate just smiles up at Castle. "You"

With Rick trying to gasp for air the three move into the kitchen of the house where Castle, with his hands shaking, takes the bottle from Sara and places it on the counter.

"We could wait to have this later if you ladies would prefer"

Beckett is staying beside Rick this entire time "That would be nice" Beckett notices that it is almost 5:00 o'clock "I know, why don't we fix a nice early supper. Sara can stay and you two can catch up on all things here in the Hamptons"

"UH sure?" Rick does not really understand what is happening with Beckett. "Kate, can I see you in the bedroom for a minute?"

Rick takes Beckett's hand and begins to pull her toward the master suite. Once out of hearing range "Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy all the contact, but what was that about?"

She puts her arms around his neck "For the very first time in my life I feel like I have a relationship worth protecting"

"And you felt threatened?"

"A little" she admits

"Kate…I am yours. Totally and completely yours"

She leans up to get a kiss "Good. Now, you said that the boat our victims were found on once belonged to her and her late husband?"

"Yeah? You don't think there is some connection? Do you?

"You said something seemed different?"

"Yeah?"

"Maybe she has some photos of the boat before they sold it and we could compare the crime scene photos with her photos and if there are any changes we can determine what"

"That makes sense" Rick responds

"Now. Let's go back in there and be great hosts to your nice, sexy, barely dressed, sultry neighbor"

"Kate…are you sure you are ok with this?"

Beckett cuts her eyes toward the door and ultimately the living room "No, but I can do this"

Castle begins his movement back out to the main house when Beckett makes a comment "Rick, let me change into something more approate for dinner guests and less sailing attire"

"OK. I will see you back in the kitchen"

Rick walks out and Beckett goes to the closet and instantly sees what she will put on

When Castle arrives at the kitchen he immediately sees that Sara has made herself comfortable at the counter. Sitting like she is makes it very evident, to any male, that she is proud of any and all of her female charms.

Rick does not take undue note, however, since he now has all he has ever wanted in the other end of the house.

"Well, how does baked sea bass cooked in light olive oil and herbs sound?"

"Perfect Rick. I didn't know you were a cook"

"Being single, with a teenaged daughter to raise, I did have to be mister mom around the house"

Castle is rushing around the kitchen just like this morning's breakfast. Pulling all the ingredients for the meal when the voice of Kate Beckett enters the space "and a nice walnut salad with my own special vinaigrette dressing"

Rick turns toward the sound of her voice and his eyes are immediately blessed with an apparition. A vision of his girlfriend, soon to be more, wearing a flirty sundress. Low v-neck in front and low plunge in the back. The skirt stopping just 8 inches above the knee placing her long slim legs on display. Generally a flirty look for the evening

If he didn't know better he would have thought she was trying to compete with their guest. But as far as Richard Castle was concerned there was NO competition.

During the course of meal prep Kate and Rick talk casually about various things around town. Who is in from the city. Who threw the wildest party. Who has been seen with whom.

The three sit down to a nice evening meal like old friends. Even though Kate likes the neighbor, she is going to keep her at arms length when it comes to Castle.

As Rick handles the clean up duties the two women move to the living room and the wine that Sara brought

This is when Kate decides to bring up the question about the boat

"Sara, I understand that the boat we were going to be going out on today once belonged to you?"

"Yeah it did" her response is wrapped in sadness "After Kirk was killed on the boat, I didn't want it anymore. I sold it to Chad. I had no idea the boat was jinxed"

"What do you mean jinxed"

"Kirk was killed and now Chad. Chad and Edie were good friends of ours"

"Did Chad and Edie go out with you a lot?" Beckett is sipping her wine slowly to make sure her mind stays sharp for this conversation

"Actually Kirk, Chad and their friend Jeremy usually went out together"

Beckett looks at the other woman "Who is Jeremy?"

"Jeremy Salco. He and his girlfriend Cindy were frequent guests on the boat"

"Oh I see" Beckett comments just as Castle re enters the room

"They were supposed to be on the boat with us today" he comments

Beckett looks at Castle "Really? Did you talk to them to see where they were?"

"No. I think we need to contact Chief Brady tomorrow to see what he knows about them"

Castle returns his attention to their guest "Sara, when we were on the boat today, something seemed different. Do you have any pictures of the inside I could look at to try to determine what has changed?"

She thinks for a minute. "Yeah we had a lot of pictures that were taken over the years. I will bring them over tomorrow, but right now, I need to go, its late and I know you two want to be alone" the woman stands and begins walking to the door.

"Thanks for a great meal Rick. And Kate it was great to meet the woman who finally has tamed the famous writer"

After the door closes Beckett spins on her heels "Tamed? What did she mean by tamed?"

Again Kate wishes she had a camera to capture Castle's face when she threw out that question

Rick stops her from moving "Kate. What is wrong?"

She is silent for a moment then takes in a very deep breath then looks at her boyfriend "before I came along was visits like her a common event for you?"


	4. Chapter 4

The old adage of 'Saved by the bell' came to mind as the house telephone rang just as Kate asked the fearsome question from Castle. The incoming call relieving Castle from having to make an immediate answer and giving him some time to think up an answer that will not get him hurt

"Castle…Yes Chief…great…do you want us to come down now?" There is another pause "OK. Kate and I will be waiting for the video"

Castle hangs up the house telephone and turns to Beckett "The chief got a copy of the video from the docks and he is e-mailing the file to my computer so we can look thru the images"

Becket walks toward the home office and Castle's desk. As she walks away from Rick he again lets his eyes enjoy her appearance. But even as wonderful as her beauty is, her intelligence gets him even excited as well

'How did I get so blessed?' he thinks to himself then speaks out loud "Kate. I love you"

She stops mid step and turns around "I love you too…but what brought that on?"

"I don't know. It just came to me that I needed to say it"

She places her arms around his neck "Are you trying to get me in the mood for later?"

"No, Kate. I just felt like telling you how I feel about you. That's all"

"Oh" is her only comment

Just as they enter the office the computer chimes indicating an incoming e-mail. Kate moves the mouse across the pad bringing the screen to life. This is when they see two e-mails. One from the Hamptons Police and one from the Kevin Ryan, NYPD

"It looks like we got an e-mail from Ryan earlier"

"Let's look at the video first" An Castle pulls up a second chair and sits down next to Kate. The open the video file and what they see is an image taken from a camera located at the very entrance of the doc leading toward the boat slips.

The time stamp shows the images starting at 7:00 pm. This is then a couple walk up to the boat carrying bags that look like they may have come from a market.

"That's Chad and Edie" Rick states

"It looks like they are bringing supplies onto the boat. Probably for tomorrow…or what would have been today"

The video shows Chad leaving the boat and he goes toward the lot and then returns once again with more bags

Castle comments "OK it took two trips to load the galley"

They keep watching as the time stamp shows several other boaters coming and going. The moves as the timer shows it is getting later in the day and the image is getting darker as the evening becomes night.

Then another man walks up to the boat. This is a tall skinny man wearing a tank top and a ball cap of some kind.

Rick states "I am not completely sure but that looks like Jeremy Salco"

"Isn't that the other man who was going to be on the boat with us today?"

"Yeah it is" Rick looks at Beckett "Kate…I never heard anything about him and his girlfriend showing up this morning for the trip"

"Castle, if he didn't even show up. Do you think he is the killer?"

"It makes sense. He kills them for whatever reason"

"We do need to figure that out" she injects

"Right…and since he knows they are dead"

"He would have no reason to show up for the trip" Kate continues

She looks at Rick and their eyes lock. They have started their foreplay of theory building.

She turns back to the computer "Let's watch the video and see when he leaves the boat. It will tell us if he was still on the boat during our time of death" Kate's voice indicates a little more excitement

"Right" is his shaky response

Castle restarts the playback of the video

They watch the time on the move up to 11:30, then midnight, then at 12:25. This is when two men wearing hoodies and hiding their faces walk up to the boat. The couple continue viewing the video. At 12:35 two flashes, in quick succession are seen from off camera and from the direction of the sail boat. Then at 12:40 the two men leave the dock walking quite fast.

Kate starts the conversation with some added emotion "They are our shooters"

"Yeah but where is Jeremy?" Rick is equally excited

At 12:46 they see Jeremy run off the dock heading out to the parking lot

"There he is "Kate starts up with glee in her voice "He is not the shooter. He's a witness"

Castle turns his head and finds that his face a mere inch from hers. Their lips are almost touching "We need to find him" he huffs out

"Yeah…we…do" She responds barely breathing

They are both looking at the other with pure lust. Their heated breath is mingled in the space between

He exhales the one word "yeah"

There is a pause of less than one second before their lips are locked together. Clothes are being dropped wherever they happen to be as these two are stumbling from his home office to their bedroom.

* * *

The sun is once more moving toward Kate Beckett's eyes waking her from a blissful night filled with both excitement and relaxation.

She stretches her arms out and once again she feels the satisfaction that is now part of her. After she opens her eyes and looks at the wall of windows watching the glow as the day begins, she can sense that he is still beside her. She rolls over onto her back and looks toward his side and there it is in his eyes…'The look'

He is laying here locked onto her. His eyes adoring her just like they were the first night she questioned him

"What are you doing?"

"Watching you sleep"

She smiles at him and rolls completely over and into him "Why?"

"You're adorable"

"What?"

"You are adorable" he puts his arm around her

"Is this your usual morning excuse?"

"Excuse for what?"

"Being creepy"

"Loving you is not creepy" he pulls her tighter to his side and she goes willingly

He leans over and they begin the day the same way they ended the night before

* * *

They have finished breakfast when Beckett's cell phone rings. Caller ID say Esposito

Kate pushes the speaker button "Hey, Espo"

"I hope I'm interrupting something" there is a tone of glee in his voice

"You're interrupting my breakfast" Kate answers "what do you have?"

"Your victims both have reasons they might be killed"

Castle responds "OH?"

"Yeah. Chad is a stock broker. He had made recommendations to several of his clients to buy into a start up called SunBright Energy"

"Yeah I've heard of them. They were developing new solar panels that were over 90% efficiency" Castle states "but my broker told me to stay as far away as I could from them"

"Your broker is smarter that Chad. The company collapsed last week when the energy department discovered they were not getting any more than traditional panels. They had sunk millions into R&amp;D without getting the promised results. There are allegations of fraud. The SEC closed them up. Some investors lost everything"

Beckett looks at Castle "That might make some people want to kill him"

"Yeah it would" Castle continues "What about Edie. You said they both has reasons"

Esposito shifts to another file "That is the one I think brought it on"

"How's that?"

"She is a legal assistant for the law firm of Cason and Meyers. They are representing Paddy O'Rourke"

"The Irish mobster charged with multiple murders?"

"The very same"

"But no bodies were ever found" Castle comments

"Right, so the case is slim"

"Why would SHE be the target" Beckett asks

"The feds reportedly have information that is claimed to have only come from the inside the legal team"

"That would also bring out a hit team" Castle finishes

"So Espo, which one seem more likely?"

"Both seem logical, but we are trying to get more answers from the feds. But today is Sunday and like most good SEC investigators, they are all at Mass right now. The captain is pulling some strings to get us some answers before too long"

Rick speaks first "Thanks Javi, let us know when you get more

They hang up on the call

Kate looks across the counter at Rick "OK it was a hit. We just need to find out who was being targeted and then we can go looking for our shooter"

"Or shooters" Castle corrects

Castle picks up the coffee carafe and pours Kate a refill. After he sits back down at the counter he takes her hand

"Kate, thank you for this"

"You know me. I need answers…you know, for the victims"

Castle's quick kiss for Kate is interrupted by the doorbell. "You were saved by the bell this time" Rick comments and begins to stand

She grabs his ear and pulls him back down to her face "No, just delaying the next make out session" and she gives him a quick kiss and then releases him

When he pulls the front door open she hears the voice of the next door neighbor, Sara Green, Kate bolts straight up from her stool and rushes to the entryway

"Rick, here are the photographs you asked for yesterday" Sara Green hands Castle a box containing a flash drive marked photos

"Sara, you didn't have to rush over to bring these"

"Not a problem Rick. I am going up to Boston with Sammy Yates this morning and I will be gone for several days with him so I thought you would want these before I got back"

Kate is standing next to Rick watching this woman admitting to having already moved on from her attempt to snag Castle, on to the next man in line without even blinking

Castle smiles "Thank you. I will take care of these and get them back to you"

"Oh don't worry Rick. If you want to keep them I can always make copies from the original flash drive"

Once she moves off the porch, Rick and Kate walk inside his office and open his computer. They begin scanning the images

"Castle there are over 400 pictures on this drive. It will take forever to look at them"

"We just need to focus on the pictures from inside the boat. There are a lot of them taken out on the deck. In fact several are from the dock itself"

Castle starts looking at the images moving quickly from the unneeded images to the ones from inside

But Castle's fast scans are not accomplishing the desired goal. Beckett has noted that a number of the pictures contain Rick. Some were not problematic. Others on the disc are filled with a lot of pictures of barely dressed party goers doing what party goers do.

Some are images of Kate's current man are with…other women. Kate's mind goes to what the neighbor said about taming the famous writer. She finds herself not focusing on the inside bar pictures but the pictures of women…many, many women in very cozy contact with Castle.

"There" Castle comments while pointing at one particular image "Look at the bar" he turns toward her "it is in a different place…" His voice trails off due to the fact he can tell that Kate is not on the same page with him

"Kate. Are you listening?"

She breaks her trance to answer him "Yeah. I was just distracted for a minute"

"Look here. The bar is close to the wall in all these pictures. But when we were on the boat yesterday, the bar was farther out into the room"

"Well maybe they moved it out to give more room behind the bar. You know for the bartender"

"No Kate. On a boat, you make sure you have the best use of space for your guests. Moving the bar two feet out is a waste. We need to go back and look at the room again and see if we can find out why the bar is out"

"UH. OK" Beckett responds

Castle stops looking at the computer and focuses on his girlfriend "What's wrong, Kate?"

"Nothing" is her less than believable response

"There is something wrong. I want to know what. Please tell me"

"Rick…there are a lot of pictures on this drive. A lot of pictures are with you... with other women"

Castle realizes that she noticed the ones with him being very chummy, shall we say, with a large number of the females on board

"They all look like celebrities or models. I am just wondering how many other women you have brought out on that boat before I came along

Castle stands and turns to Kate and takes both of her her hands "I won't deny that I have been other women out here…but…none of them were you"


	5. Chapter 5

Kate Beckett feels her face is glowing red caused by her rapidly advancing heart rate. Richard Castle has once again told her that she is his everything. This time in just a little different manner.

Over the last four years he has demonstrated to her just how important she is to him. Whether it was looking for her mother's killer, saving her life, on more than one occasion, or just a simple dinner date at Remy's

All these thoughts bring a gentle smile to her face. She looks up at him lovingly and in her most inviting voice "So you want to go show me all about the hot tub?"

He lights up like a little boy looking over the presents under the tree at Christmas "Yeah, let's go" He begins pulling her towards the pool, but before he takes more than a few steps the phone rings

Caller ID says 'Police'

"Castle…yes chief" He listens for a minute "Really? That's interesting…listen chief we got some pictures that Sara Green had of the boat when she owned it and noticed something that we need to verify. We need to go to the docks and check it out. Do you want to join us?" he listens again "Great, chief. We will meet you there" and Castle hangs up the phone

"What was that about?"

"They got the ballistics on the slugs and they are running them through the federal database. Brady said the system is down at the moment and it will be later today before the results come back"

"And what did he say about the boat?"

"He is going to meet us there"

"Seriously? You want to check out the boat NOW?"

"UH, Yeah?"

Beckett turns to Rick and presses her body into his body "So you would rather go check out a sail boat than check me out…in my bikini…in your hot tube?"

"You never said anything about the bikini!"

"Oh!" she breathes out

"I will call him back and tell him we will be there later…"

"Sorry!" She turns towards the bedroom "Too late. You had your chance. We need to go change if we are going back to the docks" and in a flash Beckett disappears into the bedroom door

Castle stomps his feet like a pouting nine year old "Not fair" with his head lowered he follows Kate to the master suite to change

When Castle and Beckett arrive on the pier, the chief has already arrived.

"Hello Chief. Thanks for coming" Beckett states

"Detective Beckett, Mr. Castle. What is it about the boat we need to look at?"

Castle pulls out a photo he printed from the flash drive Sara has left him. "Look at the bar in the lounge. It is very close to the wall. When we were here yesterday I think it was further out in the room"

Chief Brady is looking intently at the image "Yes. You are correct. It was away from the wall Farther than this"

The trio cross under the police tape marking the crime scene and once on the boat they enter the cabin and proceed into the bar area.

Castle immediately walks to the counter of the bar "This is exactly what I am talking about. It is a good two feet farther out than in this picture" he holds up the printout he brought

"What do you think this means Castle?" As Kate joins him at the counter

Rick is looking all around the area trying to determine if it has just been relocated or it has been moved temporarily. Looking at the floor he sees his answer. There is a track on each end of the bar. He kneels down to the floor and looks under the edges

"There are rollers and a locking mechanism under here"

"So the bar can be moved. What does that mean?" Beckett wonders

Castle starts looking at the section of deck that would normally be covered by the bar

"Look chief, there looks to be a hatch cover here. Help me open it" Castle wedges a table knife into the crack and begins to pry the hatch open

Chief Brady is on the opposite end of the cover also pulling the lid open. There is compartment under the bar. It is as long as the bar, about six feet long, two feet wide and about two feet deep. When the hatch cover is fully opened the three are shocked at what they see.

"Is that…blood?" Beckett asks

"Sure looks like it" Castle responds

"I think I need to get the crime lab back out here. Quick!" Chief Brady comments

Castle and Beckett stand by while the crime scene unit from the State Police goes over the scene. Since the Hamptons department has limited resources the chief called in help from Albany. The local medical examiner has joined in on the gathering. As a medical professional he can be of tremendous assistance

The doctor steps up beside Castle and Beckett "You called this one" he opens "The blood is definitely human and is from multiple contributors"

"Chief Brady then asks "Meaning?"

Beckett answers "Meaning there have been a lot of people in that box. The question is were they dead or alive when they were put in there?"

The doctor injects his opinion "I am assuming alive"

"Why do you say that?" Castle asks

"Not enough blood pool to be from someone bleeding out. Just a spattering here and there. More likely from someone hurt and the blood id from a wound"

Beckett throws out the question "What if the person was already dead?"

The doctor responds "That would also explain the small amount of blood found"

Chief Brady finally asks "But where were they coming from and where are they now?"

The doctor tells the group "Let me get these samples to the lab and get the DNA started and we will see if we can identify who these people are"

"Thank you doctor" Beckett respectfully speaks to the local medical examiner

* * *

After Castle and Beckett return to the house, Rick pours them both a glass of wine and they walk out on to the veranda and sit on the swings located under the porch roof. The evening is quite warm and the breeze off the ocean is very gentle and relaxing.

After settling on to the seat, Kate leans over to Castle and places her head on his shoulder

"Castle. I really, really like it here"

"I like the company here more"

Her smile is unseen by Rick, but he senses it when he hears the soft hum in her voice

He speaks next "You want to have an early dinner since we skipped lunch?"

"That would be nice. Then maybe we could still use the hot tube"

He takes a deep breath "You mean…in that bikini?"

"Maybe"

"If you're not comfortable in a bathing suit then you can just…?"

"Or maybe I could do that"

She hears and feels him gasp for air. She has to admit to herself she enjoys doing this to him. As well as doing other things to him too. She knows as long as they keep the mystery alive then she knows that this relationship will never be boring. She wants to make sure he is never bored with her

For the evening meal Castle and Beckett whip up a fresh garden salad with grilled chicken. Topped with cubed tomatoes, chopped egg and freshly graded cheese. They top the salad with a homemade Creamy Italian dressing that is from a secret recipe that Beckett acquired from her friend Maddie at her restaurant, Q3

When Kate went to see Maddie to get the recipe from her high school friend, Maddie asked her how her love life was going. Kate smiled and admitted to her old friend that she was thinking about making babies with a certain writer. That made her old friend happy for the detective

After dinner the couple change and headed to the pool

Castle and Beckett are walking into the pool area as Rick is telling Kate about the hot tub. "I'm sure you will find the temperature suitable but if you want it any warmer I can change…it I…can always… uh…I…"

Richard Castle has lost all ability to speak when he turns around to see that Kate has removed her cover up and is now clad only in a string bikini. A very skimpy string bikini. It is definitely NOT the one he found while sneaking through her bag earlier. This one he absolutely does NOT want her wearing out in public. He wants this one reserved for his eyes only

"What's the matter Castle. Cat got your tongue"

"We need to get in the hot tub before you freeze"

"Are you saying that you think that I'm a cold person?"

"No…no. you are definitely not cold. You are hot. I mean you make me hot…it's getting hot out here"

Kate drops her sandals and slips into the hot tub, grinning to herself. She still has him exactly where she wants him. She then looks up to her guy, who has yet to move "you coming Castle?"

"HUH! Yeah"

He follows her into the hot tub, sits down on the bench and leans into the side wall. Kate moves thru the water gracefully and then turns her back to Castle, sits in front of him on the same bench and leans back against his chest. She places the back of her head against Castle's left shoulder near his collar bone and makes a mewing sound. She then takes hold of both of Ricks' hands and wraps them around herself placing his hands exactly where she wants them to be. That makes Castle almost stop breathing

"Kate. I …uh…you…"

"Spit it out Castle. Are you having trouble with the spoken word?"

"Kate that bathing suit. You. In here wearing it. I mean is like…"

"Castle. I thought you were the playboy who could handle anything. You said you had other women out here before"

"I also said none of them were you. Especially not in that bikini"

She turns her head toward Rick and releases his hands. With her lips almost touching him "well if this bikini is the problem…"

Suddenly her hand appears from beneath the surface of the water holding the top of her suit in the air

"then we just need to get it out of the way. Don't you think?" and she tosses it aside

If this famous writer, former playboy were trying to write down the events that occurred over the next hour. It would appear as the written language of the Elves from J.R.R. Tolkin stories. No one can read them but the magical beings who invented it

* * *

The exhausted pair are leaning against the side of the tub just basking in what they just did to each other

"Castle what just happened?" Kate is nuzzled into Rick's side

"I think the world came to an end"

"How does it... us keep getting better?"

"I don't know but I am not going to mess with things I can't explain"

"Me either" Beckett relaxes more into her man

When a voice calls out from the side yard

"DETECTIVE BECKETT…MR. CASTLE. Are you back here"

These two cannot miss the voice of Police Chief Brady

"Castle we are both naked. What are we going to do?"

"Relax. I will turn on the jets. The bubbles will keep the water stirred up and no one can see below the surface that way"

"Are you're sure?"

"Trust me"

Castle turns on the jets in the hot tube then answers the officers call

"Yes, chief, we are back here at the pool"

"And I thought getting caught by your mother and daughter was embarrassing" Kate says as she ducks her head under the water

* * *

**Will these two ever catch a break?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Just a silly chapter to help the Angst of this week**

* * *

Castle quickly looks over to the side of the tub to determine exactly where their bathing suits ended up. He reaches out and throws a bath towel over the obviously shed attire before the local law enforcement officer steps up to the pool area and observes much more information than either Rick or Kate is wanting to expose at this moment, or ever for that matter.

"Mr. Castle…where is Detective Beckett?"

At that very moment Kate pops her head up out of the water acting as if she were simply wetting her hair. She reaches across her forehead and pushes aside her long, now wet, hair placing it behind her ears and against her back

"I am right here chief" She says

"You caught us…" As Castle points at Beckett

Kate flashes her fiery eyes at Castle in shock over what he just said and he feels her ever present finger nails digging into his side

Castle then finishes "…you caught us relaxing in the hot tub after a long stressful day" he looks back to her where now she softens the glare

"Is see that" The local police chief sits down on the bench only three feet from the hot tub and the pile of shed swimwear now hidden under from view by a towel

It is at this moment Kate has becomes very concerned about not being seen. Rick's assurance that bubbling water will not allow wandering eyes to see that she is completely without covering at this moment. So, to give herself a little more assurance of keeping her modesty, she turns herself into Castle and places her chest against his side, pressing her naked flesh into his.

This, of course, does not help him any since having her at his side like this is a complete and total distraction for him

Rick is barely able to speak "Well chief, what…what brings…brings you…here today?" he is finally able to stutter out

"We got a preliminary report back on the ballistics on the bullets and the blood we found in the boat"

Kate comments "You could have just called us"

He is looking directly at the pair "I tried to call you and got no answer on any of the telephone numbers we had. Yours, Detective Beckett's or your house land line

"OH Yeah" Castle comments while trying to squeeze Kate a little tighter to his side trying to keep her from rubbing to much against him "We left out phones inside the house"

"So I got concerned and we came out to check on you"

Beckett responds "WE?" worrying about how long they might have been watched

"Oh yeah. Us" Brady points out toward the ocean where another officer can be seen walking toward the pool house "Deputy Jones went came too so we could come in from two different directions. One from down to the shore just in case something had happened to you two"

Kate turns her head to look at the man walking up from the beach, wondering how long he might have been watching

Castle responds "Happened? What do you mean HAPPENED, Chief"

"We discovered that the bullets came from a gun that was involved in some other shootings around New York and New Jersey"

Seeing that Deputy Jones is coming close to the veranda, Beckett is digging herself deeper into Castle's side to make sure nothing is showing

"Really? How many shootings?" she finally chokes out

"Three at least" The police chief responds

"What happened with the victims?" Kate asks

"Witnesses called in reports of shots fired in the area but when the uniformed officers arrived there was never a body. Only blood trails and bullies"

"At the scene of three shootings there was blood and bullets but no bodies?" Castle asks

"Right. They found only blood, and on at least these three occasions slugs in the walls nearby. That's how the ballistics have linked them to our two victims on the boat"

"So the bodies were never found but the slugs were at the crime scenes?" Castle states

"Right! They investigating officers all thought they were supposedly hits by Paddy O'Rourke but since the bodies were never found and only the slugs and not linked to any gun, but a lot of blood, no charges were ever filed"

"Until last year" Beckett comments

Rick continues "Right, when the DA got an informant to talk. The DA is being very secret about it but word is the informant had all the proof on the hits and how the bodies were disposed of but the informant vanished …which brings me to the blood on the boat. The DA believes the informant is one of the victim's blood we found on the boat in the compartment under the bar"

The chief then add some more information "The blood was very telling however"

"How is that?" Beckett asks

The chief looks out at the ocean. "The other blood samples taken were from other missing mobsters"

"Beckett and Castle look at each other and at the same moment "The boat was used to dispose of the bodies"

"Now many others?" she asks

"Five other missing men"

"But not from the Irish mob?"

"Two of the blood samples matched to Russians and three to Italians"

Castle and Beckett then turn to look at the chief with questions on both their faces then Rick speaks "But chief, Chad has only owned the boat for a few months…"

Beckett interrupts "Castle! What if the previous owner was involved in all this?"

"You mean Kirk? Kirk Green? Sara's late husband?"

Kate continues "That would make sense. You said he died last year…"

"In a boating accident"

"What if it wasn't an accident?"

"What if Green was going to talk?"

"And O'Rourke or the other families found out?

"And set up an accident to do away with him?"

The local police chief has never been the witness to these two's special theory building so he is very impressed

Beckett realizes that her and Castle are about to allow their emotions to get the better of themselves so she turns back to the chief "Did you say they got the ballistics back on the gun that was used?"

"Yeah and they do match a Glock" the police chief continues "and there is a Glock 19 registered to Kirk Green

"Rick if the boat was used to hide bodies and Kirk Green owns a 9mm, then just Sara might be involved?

"I don't think so"

"OH really? Why not?" she pops back at him

"I have known them for years. I mean I just don't think that she is a…"

"Don't think what? A killer. Why? Just because she shows up wearing so little that there is no place where she could hide a gun?"

"Kate! You are jealous"

Beckett suddenly realizes that the two local police officers are still here and are witness to their banter

"UH! Chief, how long ago did they…did he buy the gun?" Castle asks

"The gun was a fairly recently purchased gun. The 19 that is registered to Kirk Green was bought just a month before his death"

"Kate looks at Rick "He bought it for protection. He knew someone was after him"

"The late husband of your neighbor Sara is the accomplice?"

"Could be" Castle responds

"OK then we will go and try find her" The chief stands and points Deputy Jones in the direction of the side gate

"Chief, she came by earlier today and said she was going to Boston with another man. Sammy Yates. I don't know who he is" Rick tells the officer

"OK Mr. Castle. Detective Beckett. Thanks to both of you" and the two local police officers move to the gate and out of sight

Kate finally separates her chest from Rick's side "That was close" she states "we almost let this get out of hand. I was afraid that I almost let my stuff show"

Then Castle adds "And the only stuff of yours I want these officers to see is see is your detective skills"

"OH!" she repeats with a little more emotion "You want to go inside and check out my other stuff?"

* * *

The police chief and the deputy walk thru the gate, closing it on the way out. On around the side yard toward the front of the house where they had both parked their respective cruisers

"Chief, you not going to let them know how long we waited before finally walking up to them back there/" the deputy points his thumb in the direction of the rear yard

"The chief opens his car door and stops before answering "Would you want to know that you had an audience when you are in a Jacuzzi with your girlfriend?"

The junior officer look in the direction of the gate "No I guess not"

* * *

**Several mentioned these two not ever getting a break. Please note I only have them caught AFTER the fun part**


	7. Chapter 7

**The last morning in the Hamptons**

* * *

She has no idea why, exactly, she woke up when she did except her body knew it was Monday and it was time to get ready to go to work.

Instead of being able to sleep late just one more morning, her mind is in high gear and revved to go

Her legs are pulled under her as she is sitting on the back veranda of his house. His Estate as the local medical examiner called it.

She is drinking yet another cup of coffee. This is what? Her third, fourth? She has lost count already

The sound of the ocean, a few yards away, is trying to sooth her mind while all the caffeine rush and the mental exercises her head is doing are trying to wake her up

This weekend has not been all she had hoped for, but in so many ways it was much better. It is superior to her previous normal days off

A typical Saturday and Sunday usually had been spent doing the laundry for the next week. Cleaning the house. Picking up the simplest things from the market, since her regular meals came inside little white takeout containers

Sometimes going to a movie. Usually alone. Occasionally she would connect with her best friend, Lanie, and just commiserate over old boyfriends, nice clothes, or even unusual cases from work.

Then in the more recent years their girl to girl conversations had moved to the man who had popped into Kate's life out of nowhere and latched himself onto her and simply would not let go. She chuckled silently to herself thinking about the times she just openly said to him "You're not going away no matter what I do, are you?"

For years she tried to get rid of him. With every new day came another new attempt to rid herself of him but in the end, his answer to that question of him leaving was plainly 'NO. I am not going away'

Had she really wanted him to go away? The answer to that question was another resounding, NO!

She had dated many men over the years and each one had his own place in her heart. She had tried dating fellow law enforcement officers and found them 'Not what I'm looking for right now' because when the day was over she, needed some separation from chasing criminals

She even tried a fine man of medicine, not connected to the criminal justice system, who actually shared her love for motorcycles. But she found his world not fitting into her world when she was in need of support of someone who understood her job

So now, here she is. With this man inside his comfort zone

At his place outside the city and outside of her comfort zone.

A man who is not a cop but understands and wants justice and even in his world away from crimes he can still help her solve cases

At the same time creating, for her, a new comfort zone.

He is wanting a decision from her and with the events of this weekend she has finally made her decision. She just needs to find a way to tell him. Get the courage to tell him her answer

She takes a deep breath, stands and walks back into the kitchen and decides to surprise him by fixing breakfast for them.

She stops at the counter for just a moment finishing her latest cup when she can feel his presence come up behind her and surround her with his love

* * *

He rolls over in the bed and finds her side empty. In fact it is cool. She has not been beside him for some time. He looks over to the clock and it is just after 7:00 Am. This is their last day to be alone at his place by the sea and he wanted them to sleep late.

He slides out from under the covers and walks toward the kitchen. This is when his eyes are blessed with the most beautiful, intriguing, wonder filled sight. Standing over the counter, dressed simply in one of his t shirts is the most loved woman in the world

She must have felt his presence since she speaks before he even crosses the threshold to the kitchen "good morning sleeping beauty"

He moves up behind her and slides his arms around her waist and leans over to give her a nibble just behind the ear

"Hum…" she moans out indicating his opening salvo is well accepted

"What are you doing up this early" he asks

"I woke up thinking about…" she pauses to be very careful in her response "this case" she takes a last sip of her coffee then walks over to the table and sits down

Castle pours himself a cup and joins her "what are you thinking about?"

"Your next door neighbor dies in and 'Accident' on his boat shortly after buying a gun. Then a few months later the new owners die on the boat. Then evidence of several bodies having been on the boat" she looks up at Castle "What is going on?"

"That, my beautiful detective, is the question we need to answer. But first I need to do breakfast for you then we can get started on that" And Rick stands back up and heads for the refrigerator

Kate also stands and tries to beat him to the counter "Oh no you don't! I am doing this today" and the battle begins.

He is opening the door to retrieve the bacon and eggs as she is opening the crisper drawer to pull out fresh fruit. He then passes her on his way to the stove to bring out the skillet and she is setting the orange juice to the counter

Anyone from out side of this house would swear that these two have been married for years and the dance they are doing is just a normal startup of their day.

After the dishes are loaded in the dishwasher and they move toward the back porch, where she had just been

Castle sits down and Kate places herself down beside him. She looks out to the ocean then takes in a deep breath "Castle…"

Then turning to look at him "…we need to talk"

He feels his heart jump into his throat. He had so many rejections from her over the years, a tiny part of him expected her to pop up and say 'We both knew it was just a one time thing' but before he can even respond, the phone rings. Castle reaches out to the side table and picks up the instrument

"Hello?...oh hi chief…yes, Beckett's right here…Sure, we can come down right away. Give us enough time to get dressed and we will be in" He punches to end call button

"They picked up Jeremy Salco and his girlfriend. They had checked into a motel in Montauk"

He looks at her "But first, what is it you wanted to say?"

"It will wait until after the case" and she stands and almost runs to the bedroom to dress. If Castle could only see the look of glee on her face he would feel so much better

The trip to the local police station is taken in silence. Castle took it differently than Beckett meant the quiet to be.

When the pair arrives at the station, they are escorted into the interview room. It is much different than different to the rooms that Castle and Beckett are accustomed to in the city. This room is smaller, brighter and there is no two way mirror for another person to be behind taking notes.

Inside the room, sitting in a hard back chair is Jeremy Salco. He is jittery to say the least. His knees are bouncing up and down and he has visible perspiration beading on his forehead.

When Beckett opens the door he jumps as if he thought someone was going to shoot him

The local chief along with Rick and Kate sit across form the man. The man who look like he is expecting to be shot right here on the spot

Beckett places here pad on the table "Mr. Salco, I am detective Kate Beckett, NYPD and we have a few questions for you"

Having her identify herself as New York police does not help to quell the man's fears

"What were you doing on Chad's boat the other night and what did you see?"

"SEE? What do you mean? I didn't SEE anything"

This answer tells the experienced detective that this man did see something and is afraid to answer

"Jeremy, we know you were on the boat and we know you were there when Chad and his girlfriend were shot, so what did you see?"

"I didn't SEE anything. I was hiding"

"Hiding? What do you mean?

The man is obviously not wanting to divulge much information "I had gone to the boat early. Chad told me that he and Edie were going to party some and if I wanted to join them, I could. So I went out there"

Beckett is taking notes then Rick continues the questions "And where were you when the two men came on board?"

"I had gone to the head and had just closed the door when I heard yelling"

"Could you hear what was said?" The chief asks

"No! They had some kind of an accent and I couldn't understand everything but I did hear something about where was the body. But these two guys were intense"

"What body?" Beckett wonders

"I don't know. Then I heard them tell Chad and Edie to get on their knees then I heard two gunshots"

"Then what happened?"

"I listened and I heard something like metal on metal. Then it all went silent. I waited before opening the door. That's when I saw them. They had been shot, the bar was slid out from the wall. I got hell out of there"

Kate is taking more notes. "Do you think you can describe these two men for a sketch artist?"

"No. I never saw them. Did you look at the video?"

Castle and Beckett both speak at once "Video? What Video?"

"Chad had hidden cameras installed all over the boat. He was a voyeur. He enjoyed recording his little uh…his…little…activities"

Rick and Kate look at each other "We've got pictures"

* * *

**A/N About 7x20**

I have my opinion of this episode. I don't think anything in that episode is real. I think this was a planted memory for the sake of filling his time gap and we will see more truth come out in season 8.

I think the studio and network is driving all the angst to keep the interest alive.  
Why would they release contract information about one star signing and not the other, except to create chatter  
Release the info about DA stepping down. (I think he is going back to X-files)  
AWM stepped down last year to work on Derrick Storm, but that fell through, so he needs his old job again

Just MHO


	8. Chapter 8

The local police chief and his senior deputy, along with Castle and Beckett, have arrived at the boat docks and are once again inside the large sailboat looking around for the video recording equipment that Jeremy Salco had told them about.

They begin first by looking in the main lounge where they begin seeing the hidden cameras in their locations. One is disguised to look like a smoke detector, another in a table lamp. There was even a camera in the light fixture above the pool table and one pointed at the mirror in the bar

Castle looks up into the hanging fixture above the table "It looks like our boat owner was into all kinds of kinky activities"

Castle and Beckett leave the locating of more cameras in the capable hands of local law enforcement. The partners have gloved up and are carefully looking into cabinets and closets desperately trying to locate the claimed video archive. Despite their best efforts they are still not locating any recorders, DVR's or computers connected for video recording

Kate is opening the last of the galley drawers then turns to Castle "Jeremy said that Chad had installed the cameras to record their amorous activities"

Rick is looking into a closet "Yeah but we are not finding anything to make the recordings. So what are you thinking?"

"If he didn't want his guests to know they were being recorded he might not be using traditional recorders and DVR's"

"What do you think he did then?"

"I am not sure" she glances around the room once again

The local chief is heard calling out from the main lounge "Detective, these cameras are internet enabled"

Castle looks at Kate "That explains it"

"What are you thinking Rick?"

"The recorders are not here on the boat. Chad was recording from his home or office

Beckett finishes her thoughts "I think I will call Tori and see she can give us an insight as to where he might have sent the recordings"

The two move back into the main lounge room where the two local officers are taking their notes

Beckett turns to the local police "Chief Brady we have not found any recorders DVR's Flash drives or computers set up to record. Since you said the cameras are internet enabled. We think Chad had the recordings saved remotely. Can you find out if the marina had ?"

"Yes Detective Beckett they do. There is a sign at the office about the connectivity here. Each slip owner has a hot spot beside the dock"

"She looks at Rick "Great! We can have Tori use the local IP address to trace the signal and see where the images were sent and then we can go there to find the recordings"

"Perfect" Rick responds

Back out on the dock, Beckett goes looking for the hot spot and locates the unit. She takes her phone out and calls back to the city and contacts Tori

"Hey we have a bunch of cameras that may have our killers on them but the recordings were remote using the internet. If I give you the local IP address of the Wi-Fi hot spot do you think you can do a reverse trace to see where the images were sent and maybe we can find the recordings?"

"Sure Beckett. I will need an hour or so to finish my current project then I will do yours"

"OK here is it's the address…" and Kate gives the number sequence to the tech specialist

The two police officers come off the boat and walk up to Castle and Beckett. "Detective Beckett, do you think that Chad sent the images to his computer at his home here in the Hamptons?"

"He may have. We need to check that out. Can you get a search warrant for us?"

"I already had Deputy Jones call one in. The judge is a friend and his clerk said that he will take it to the bench for signature and it will be ready by the time I get to the courthouse"

Castle looks at Kate "Let's go get some lunch then we will meet the chief back at Chad's house"

"That will give Tori time to see if the pictures were sent anywhere else"

Castle turns to the police officer "We will see you at Chad's house in about an hour"

"See you two there" the chief gets into his cruiser

Rick and Kate go to his BMW and they head out in different directions

Castle turns to Beckett "You want some lunch?"

"Sounds good to me. Is there some place we can have a quick bite to eat?"

Rick tells Kate that she really will love a little diner in town called Chandler's Café. It is a small family owned, down home cooking.

"It rivals any fancy restaurant in The Big Apple"

"OK, lets' go" she smiles as she settles into the passenger seat of his way too comfortable car.

When they arrive at the small diner, they find the place full of lunch time patrons. But they only have to wait ten minutes before they are able to get a booth. After they are settled down, Kate has the funny feeling she has been here before but she knows that during her previous trips to the Hamptons, they were all business and she was never afforded the time or opportunity to relax at a meal here

She picks up the menu and finds selections are made up of meals that look like they would have been served at home on a Sunday afternoon by a doting grandmother. The selections include favorite items such as fried chicken, Roast beef, grilled chicken, and fish dishes all served with a wide selection of vegetables. The menu also includes a salad plate and vegetable plate.

Today's special of Turkey and dressing with all the fixings is Kate's selection

Rick chooses the grilled chicken with steamed vegetables

While they are waiting for the meal Rick is wondering about Kate's earlier desire to talk but being a man with two failed marriages in his history he is not positive if his communication skills need to be injected at this moment. He had learned in the past that when the woman wants to talk, you better be ready to listen but don't try to force it because if she doesn't want to talk, then he should keep his mouth closed and wait for a cue. And since no opening has arisen he chooses the keeping quiet mode.

So before the food arrives Castle decides to use the time to discuss the victims and the findings or possible findings that are still to be deciphered.

Once the meals arrive, the focus turns to consuming and less on talking

Between his own bites, however, Castle is looking across the table at his love and watching her eat

"Castle! It was creepy enough to have you watch me do paperwork and then waking up to find you watching me sleeping. And now this?"

"Kate, I guess you just need to accept it"

She reaches across the table and pokes him softly in the arm

Just as Rick is paying the bill Kate's cell phone rings. Caller Id says 12th precinct

"Beckett…hey Tori. What do you have?" Beckett listens for a minute "Have Ryan, get a search warrant and have him let me what they find. Great! Thanks"

Kate turns to look at Castle "Tori traced the IP address to Chad Braxton's loft in Tribeca. The logs identify the destination to be a computer there. Ryan is going to get warrant to enter the loft and bring his computer to Tori for her to scrub. Maybe the murders were recorded"

That is great. So, do we want to go to his house here or just wait for Ryan?"

"Let's go ahead and meet the chief at the house here then we can see what Tori finds. Between the two places, we might just get our answers"

Castle and Beckett get back into his car and they drive back in the general direction of Castle's home and by default Chad's as well. When they arrive at the street the see Brady's vehicle in the driveway

Inside Chad's Hamptons home, the place is spotless "It doesn't look like anyone has been here" Kate comments as they pass into the entry

"So his killers did not come here to look for anything" Castle adds

The local police chief asks "what would that mean?"

"If they victims were killed because of some evidence or information they had, the killers would have come here and searched. The place looks like the housekeeper just left"

Rick picks up a piece of paper from the table "They did just leave. This is a note from the housekeeper dated today saying he was needing dish soap in the kitchen"

"OK, so the place was just cleaned. Is there a number to call where we can ask the service about the condition of the house when they arrived?"

Rick looks over the note once again "No. Nothing, just hand written note, signed Pam"

The local police chief looks around "I know her. A lot of the weekenders use her. I will get the clerk at the station to find her number and see what she knows"

"Lets' look for computers and I think we will find our answer" Beckett says as she begins her search of the home

After more than an hour they have turned up nothing when Kate's cell phone rings.

"Beckett. Oh hey Ryan. You got the warrant and what did you find?"

Everyone one else is waiting for Beckett's conversation to finish

"Great. Get it to Tori and have her look for any recordings that might indicate the murder is recorded"

Beckett turns back to the room. Ryan is getting our technical expert involved in the machine. She will let us know what she finds"

The local police chief thanks Castle and Beckett and the couple leave the vacant house and drive back to Castle's home. Once inside Rick tell Kate he will fix them a snack

Kate looks at Rick and then speaks "Actually i would prefer if we took a nap instead"

She turns and walks toward the bedroom and while doing so removes her blouse, hangs it over her shoulder then with flourish drops it on the floor as her now bare back disappears around the corner

* * *

The pair are once again on the back porch of his home looking at the day moving toward sunset when Beckett's cell phone rings again indicating the call is from Tori

"Hey Tori, what do you have?" then a blank look comes across her face "Really? Can you send it to me and let me look at it?"

After a pause and with a tone of almost anger "Thank you"

Castle looks at Kate questioning what is going on "What did she find?"

"Castle…don't lie to me. Not now!"

"What's going on Kate?"

"It seems that Chad took a lot of the sex tapes from the boat and edited them into some really steamy product suitable for the X-rated market"

"OK? What about it?"

"One file she found on Chad's computer was marked 'Castles love life for Ledger Page6'. What would that be?"

"I…I don't have a clue"

"Is there video of you on that boat of his? That sex party boat? Doing whatever with whomever?"

"No Kate! I promise I have done nothing"

"What about old video? Something from your distant past?"

"Beckett! I promise you I was never indiscrete. An besides it would have been long before I met you"

She lowers her head into her hands. "This is just what I need. The boys finding a video of you with other women"

"Kate I promise you. There is no video of me with another woman"

"Are you sure?"

* * *

**As much as I prefer FUN**

**A little angst thrown in for FUN** **works too**


	9. Chapter 9

**Wow. The comments worrying about what Kate would see in the video?**

**Here it is**

* * *

Kate Beckett has moved to the study and placed herself down at Castle's desk. She takes a deep breath as she puts on a set of headphones as if doing this will lessen the impact of whatever audio is on this recording. Or it will be softened by simply not allowing the sounds to fill the room

She closes her eyes then presses the play button.

Immediately a din of sound floods her ears and the screen is filled with a number of revelers walking around holding drinks and snacks. There is music playing and some of the guests can be seen dancing around. There is a time stamp in the corner identifying the video's date of recording to be about a year ago. Kate quickly calculates the date to be after the fiasco caused when he left with Gina. So Kate is expecting Gina to be in the video

She returns her concentration to the screen

All the men in the recording are dressed casual for the beach or in swimwear.

Most of the women are dressed in the least possible coverage imaginable. Kate does not see one of them dressed with any level of modesty. This is embarrassing to her that members of her own gender seem to think it is necessary to put all that much skin just out there on display for the entire world to see

She watches for another few minutes when she sees him. Rick Castle steps onto the deck of the boat from the dock. He moves inside to the bar where the bartender mixes a drink and hands it over to him. He looks around the room then steps to the side closest to one of the cameras and sits down on the bench seat. He appears to be alone

A voice can then be heard over the party noises "Hey Rick!" Chad Braxton rushes up and sits down next to the writer "Glad you could make it"

"Thanks for inviting me Chad"

"So didn't you bring a date?" the man is looking around the room

Rick looks around the area also "No, just myself"

"I thought you and your ex wife were back together"

"That…that didn't work out." there is a tone in his voice of regret

"Well I can sure fix that"

"Oh?" now there is a sense of dread in Rick's voice

"Joy Mason is here. You remember her? I think you know her? She has been dying to get together with you"

"Are you talking about THE Joy Mason?" Rick holds both his hands out in front of his chest as if cupping something "the big busted blond?"

"The very same"

"Chad, her chest seems to get bigger and bigger every time I see her,"

_Kate lets out a huff_

"Well she does get a frequent customer discount at the Plastic Surgery Center"

A small chuckle exits Rick

From the other side of the room a very leggy, bleached blond, woman suddenly appears wearing what looks like three small triangles connected by thread, pretending to be a swimsuit.

Castle's description of excessively large breasts comes into full view

"Hey Rick! So glad you came" her voice just bubbling over along with other things about to pop out

"Hello Joy" Rick responds but without any emotion in his voice

"Rickey, you know I have been waiting for you to call me" the woman obviously trying to make her mark on the man

"I am sorry, Joy but I am currently committed to someone"

"OH no! Why?" she pouts

"Let's just say I am off the market"

_Kate gets a questioning look on her face_

Sticking her lower lip out in a false pout, the woman is obviously not pleased with his response but she seems to accept it "well then when you are back on the market I think you and I can have a really good time. Call me"

She moves back into the crowd and Castle turns his attention back to the host

Castle smiles "I guess it doesn't bother some people that they are not real"

Chad looks sideways at Castle then with a chuckle "and that means something to you? I remember the Richard Castle that would jump on that…no pun intended"

"Wow! That is direct. Isn't it?" Rick looks down at his drink "Chad…I have. I have decided I am more… I am interested in real, not fake" he points his thumb in the direction of the blond

"She is direct. But what do you mean you are off the market? The tabloids are not saying that you are in a relationship of any kind"

Castle takes in deep breath "It's complicated"

"How's that?"

"I am sort of interested in someone"

"OH? You are saying that like you have found this REAL woman you mentioned. Who is it? A local celebrity? Actress? Heiress?

Rick pauses a second "It's someone I work with"

"Oh? You are not back with Gina again? So who would it be? Your agent Paula?"

"No. Not the publishing side of work. The police side"

"You're dating a cop?"

"Not exactly"

_The words coming from Castle cause the tears to well up in Kate's eyes. She is beginning to realize just how deep his feelings are for her and for how long they have existed  
_

"You have a girlfriend so you are not interested in BBB (Big Boob Blonde)?"

"Well, she's not my girlfriend"

"Alright Rick. You have me confused. You are not interested in Joy because you are NOT dating another woman? But she is a REAL woman? That makes no sense at all"

"I told you it was complicated"

"Well…uncomplicate it for me. I'm a simple person. Spell it out so I can understand"

Castle takes another deep breath as he is looking around the room and he points toward the crowd "All of these women are beautiful…each in their own personal way. But most of them have sugar daddy's or their money comes from their family or they have everything handed to them and they are fun and uncomplicated"

After another pause "The woman I'm talking about is complicated. In fact she's the most remarkable, maddening, challenging, frustrating But REAL person I have ever met. She is totally real. No false front. No attraction to my publishing credits and no fake body parts and she has a fully functioning brain inside her pretty head"

He takes in another deep breath "And I am in love with her"

This causes his host to laugh as well "So if she is this great, why didn't you bring her?"

"I don't think her boyfriend would appreciate it"

"Wait! Are you telling me that you are hung up on a woman who is already in a relationship with someone and you are holding back on your own happiness?"

"RICK Get a hold of yourself!" Chad bursts out

"I know I sound crazy but this is how it is"

"OK! Let me get this straight. You are in love with a woman you cannot have and you are miserable, Right?"

"Pretty much"

"So what are you going to do if she stays with this guy? Marries him? Has kids with him?"

"I will send a nice gift to the couple. I will go to her wedding. Stay for the reception and I will continue to help her at work until she finally tells me to leave and never come back"

"So you will stop loving her then?"

Castle has a far away look in his eyes "That will never happen"

_Kate has reached the point her heart is racing and the tears are streaming down her face. She had no idea his feelings for her were that strong_

"Wow Rick! This will make a great by line for the Ledger. You know 'Famous Mystery Writer falls for cop muse'"

"Chad! Please don't' say anything to anyone. It could get back to her and her boyfriend and cause them problems and I do not want that to happen"

"OK I understand" but he has a look in his eyes that he has other plans

"Sometime you have to show your love for someone by letting them go"

Beckett can no longer see the computer screen due to the river of tears. She throws down the headphones, jumps up, and runs out of the office toward the bedroom

Richard Castle is sitting on his bed worrying about what exactly is on the video and concerned that she may in fact, this time get her gun and shoot him.

When she appears in the entry all he can see are the river of tears running down her face. He knows he is a dead man. But…he is not expecting her next move as she literally jumps on top of him causing him to fall flat on his back

She is poised above his face as she is trying to talk. The words come out and he is having trouble understanding them. When finally she starts kissing him and he hears her…

"YES! YES! YES! I WILL MARRY YOU"


	10. Chapter 10

His brain is saying "I am dead!" Totally DEAD! I did not even see the gun. She has shot and killed me. That is the only possible explanation for what is happening because his addled brain cannot fathom the fact that Kate Beckett is on top of him and trying to kiss him senseless while the entire time screaming that she will marry him mixed with several 'I Love You's

So this I what it is like to die? He imagines. You get to relive the greatest fantasy you have ever been able to conjure up. That has to be it! He is positive he has died and she is an angel that looks like Kate and this is his eternity. Then he begins to feel her tears rolling across his face as they continue to fall from her eyes.

He is trying to breathe, which is becoming more and more difficult by the minute as he feels Kate's full weight on top of him as she is pressing her lips into his and holding on for dear life.

To say that Richard Castle was caught totally off guard by her actions at this moment would be an understatement

He finally garners the strength to push her up at the shoulders so he can look into her face and draw in some air at the same time

"Kate. Kate!" his words finally catching her

"I'm sorry Castle" she speaks "I'm so sorry for ever doubting you"

"So does this mean we are good?"

"No, we are more than good. We are great. Really great!"

"What happened? What was on the video?"

"That video answered every question I, myself or any woman would ask about her man's feelings about her"

"So I guess I am not going to be on the receiving end of a bullet?"

She lets out a laugh "NO! The only thing you are going to be on the receiving end of is THIS" and she starts back in on his lips.

As much as he is enjoying this unprovoked attack on him, he wants to know more about the reason for this shift from thinking he was going to die to her loving assault

"Kate! Please tell me what was on the video"

She sits up on the bed staying close to him "I am not going to tell you" She says with an evil grin on her face

"What do you mean you're not going to tell me?"

"You just need to enjoy the outcome. OK?"

"But Kate…" She gently leans down to kiss him again halting his questioning

"Shut up Castle and kiss me"

"OK"

Instead of this coupling becoming more heated, these two just bask in this being one very sweet, loving make out session

To use the term 'Saved by the Bell' Castle almost laughs out as the house phone rings breaking them out of their trance

She is not happy to hear the phone ring but Kate is closer to the bedside table and phone than Rick. When she picks it up it is obvious to the person on the other end that she did not want to be interrupted "WHAT?"

After a moments pause "OK...REALLY…You are kidding me? Have you told Brady yet? Go ahead and call him but send the video so Castle and I can look at it. 'll tell Castle and then we will go to the local police station"

"Tell me what?" Between the temperature of the room being raised by the couple's bodies and Kate being still on top of him Castle is still having trouble breathing

Kate grins at her guy "The video from the boat! The murders were in fact recorded and you will not believe what this shows"

"What?" Rick finally chokes out

"Chad was mistaken for Kirk Green"

"WHAT?"

"The two men came on the boat and were looking for Kirk"

"The killers were after Kirk Green and killed Chad by mistake?"

"No. Not a mistake. Tori said the conversation was about dumping bodies and Chad told them that he knew nothing but by the time the two men figured out that they had the wrong people it was too late" Kate tell Castle

"They had already said too much to Chad and Edie" Rick finished the thought

"They only had one choice to keep them silent"

"They had to kill them"

"That means there two are pros"

These two suddenly stop and are looking deeply at each other

"It's a good thing we are a couple now" Rick comments

Kate's face looked puzzled "Why's that?"

"So I can enjoy looking at you"

"We better go check to see if the file has come from Tori" and she stands up and actually runs out of the room

"Hey, what's the rush Kate?"

He can barely hear her reply since she has already reached his study. When he arrives at the desk she has just finished doing something to the computer but she is hiding it from him

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing" she shyly replies knowing full well, he suspects it has something to do with the video she watched earlier

"Are you erasing the video? I want to see it" he tries to reach around her

She slaps his hand away "No. I am not erasing it but you don't need to see it"

"Why? If I didn't do anything bad then why can't I see it?"

She finally finishes her task of locking the file then turns around to Rick

"Castle!" She puts her hand on his chest and stops his actions "If you saw this video you would think I am silly for feeling the way I do about it and second, if you don't know what it is you did on it then you will spend days and days trying to do other things to make me happy"

Wrapping her in his arms again "I will spend all my time working to make you happy"

She smiles

"With or without that video"

She gently kisses him "Good. But right now we need to go to the local police station and get with them"

"OK" Castle huffs out

When they arrive at the station and enter the building they see all the officers, on duty, crowded around the TV monitor looking at something

"Hey Chief Brady" Castle speaks up "If that's porn, I'm in"

The local boss looks at the incoming pair "It might as well be. It is the two victims being murdered" Brady turns to the desk Sargent "Start the video back at the place where the shooters come in"

The officer complies with the chief's orders and begins the video over again. Initially, the video is not unusual. There are half empty drinks on the table. Chad and Edie are sitting on the couch engaged in a very hot make out session.

There is a noise and the two look up from their lip lock and Chad can be hear "hi Jeremy. What are you up to?"

"Just came by to crash"

"Why don't you go home?"

"Cindy and I had a fight and she threw me out…again!"

"Caught you with another woman Huh?"

"Yeah. But I told her that she meant nothing to me"

"You need to quit running around on her and work out your issues"

"I know man. Can I crash here or not? I can leave if you two need some privacy"

Chad points toward the other bedroom "Go ahead"

The man leaves the room in the direction of the forward bedroom and head

Chad looks to Edie "If he doesn't stop running around on her they are going to kill each other"

A man's voice comes from nowhere "Who is going to kill who?"

Two men enter the picture holding guns. The larger of the two men points his weapon at Chad "Kirk, we are tired of you ignoring us"

"Kirk? I'm not Kirk. He's dead"

"Right! kirk! Do we look like fools? The boss has been trying to contact you and you just keep ignoring him and you know how he feels about that?"

"My name is Chad. Chad Braxton. Kirk Green died last year"

"Don't try to get away with this. This boat is the Green Machine Right? That is the boat we were told to find"

In the middle of this man's verbal attack Castle points at the other man in the room "I know him. I've seen him before somewhere"

"Yeah. Me too" Kate comments

Going back to the screen the two suspects have continued to interrogate the couple "You think you are getting away with this?" The larger man continues "The boss needed your services and you did not make contact so he sent us here to settle the account"

Chad is obviously scared as the two mobsters are getting more and more aggressive

"I swear I am NOT Kirk. Kirk Green died in a boating accident last year and I bought the boat from his widow, Sara"

"Stay put" the second man says to the couple then they turn and have a private conversation. It is not possible to hear everything but what can be hears is that one of them tell the other "We need to clean this up" The other shakes his head yes

The two men return focus to the couple "Get on your knees!"

"NO! PLEASE!" Chad begs

"ON YOUR KNEES" the man who appears familiar says and kicks the pair to the deck.

The larger man points his weapon at the couple and in two rapid succession shots the couple are gone

The pair quickly exit the boat but before they move outside the range of the microphones, one of them can be heard saying to the other "The Senator will not be happy about this"

The law enforcement officers can all be heard to gasp at the comment.

The men face the camera for a brief second, Castle recognizes one of the men

"That is the man Sara Green was leaving with to go to Boston. She said his name was Sammy Yates"

Kate looks at Castle "Rick. Your neighbor is involved. And what senator are they talking about?


	11. Chapter 11

**OK..**

**IMHO for the finale**  
**She gets a job offer from the State of NY. Not the City**  
**She can choose her team so she picks the guys**

**Season 8 Starts two years later. They have kids and she is well established into a new position**

* * *

The group is gathered in the main bull pin area of that police station. Each one discussing the information they just viewed from the video and what it means.

The chief turns to Castle and Beckett "The man you saw leaving with Sara is definitely the man in the video?"

Beckett responds to Chief Brady "No doubt, sir"

Castle adds "Positive"

"And you two think that Sara is involved?"

"Why else was she with him if not…you know! With him?" Castle adds

The police chief turns toward the couple and in a tone more incredulous "She came after you Mr. Castle. I am sure she was just looking for a man and since you were, shall we say, occupied, when he showed up to fill her needs, she left with him instead"

Beckett bristles at the thought of Castle and Sara together had she not been with Rick now. She does wonder what possibly could have happened. Would he have been tired of waiting for her? Her heart knows what she saw on that video and she really has no reason to doubt him now, but she wants to play with him just a little bit more

"Yeah, Castle. She came after you all right!" she grits out, pokes him in the arm for fun, then turns to the chief "We need to get this information to my team in the City and let them try to dig a little deeper into their backgrounds. One of my guys has connections at the Pentagon. So, he can dig deep into all of their backgrounds and see if there is a connection"

"You call your people and get it started and we will return to her house and look around after we get a search warrant?"

Kate responds "Perfect" and she takes out her call phone and calls the precinct back in New York. When Esposito answers, Beckett steps away from the group

Castle is still looking at the computer and then looks over to the local sergeant "Did you get all the videos that Ryan and Esposito pulled from Chad's computer back in the city"

"I think so. I'm not completely sure. If you know a file name we can look and see what we have"

"UH I think the file name said something about Ledger page 6 in the file name"

"Do you know the first few words of the name?"

"No, just that the ledger page 6 was part of the name"

The sergeant starts a search "OK. But it would be easier and faster if you had the beginning of the file name but I can search this way too, it will just take a little longer"

Castle seems a little to anxious

The desk officer looks at Castle "is there something in this file relating to the case?"

"UH, No. It's just a file I need to look at. That's all"

"What file do you need to look at Castle?" The voice of the love of his life comes up behind him

"Oh not important" He responds but not very convincing

"You are trying to get the video I watched. Aren't you?"

"UH! No…I…was…just…"

She takes his arm "No, Castle! Leave it alone"

"Kate. I need to know what I did on that video"

She pulls Castle aside "Rick, I am not telling you any more about that video"

"Oh come on Kate. I need to know" he pleads like a little boy "I want to know"

"No you don't"

"I need to know so I can build from there. When I really screw it up with you, I will know what to do to fix it"

This brings a smile to her face. She drags Rick by the shirt sleeve and they walk outside. She steps in front of Castle and puts her hands onto his forearms and wraps her long fingers around him "Rick. What I saw that was on that video was a onetime thing. It didn't happen before and it will never…It CAN never happen again. The event cannot be repeated but I will tell you this…" she leans in to kiss him gently "if you ever do something that makes me worry about US" pointing between them "I will re-watch the video over and over"

This answer does nothing to quell his wish to see the playback "I don't understand…"

She snuggles her head to his shoulder and whispers into his ear. "

"All women have their secrets including me, and sometimes for the sake of a relationship, we need to keep some things secret. That includes what secret things he does that makes us feel loved by our guy"

She gives another kiss to his neck causing a shiver to rush up inside

"Please do like I said earlier and just enjoy it! OK?"

"OH! I have enjoyed every bit of it…but I can't help wanting to know"

"Get over it"

Kate's cell phone rings saving her from any more of Castle's rampant desire to draw information from her "Beckett. Hey Ryan, let me put you on speaker"

Rick responds "Hey Ryan"

The voice of the Irish detective starts up "Hey Castle how is your little romantic getaway working out for you?"

Beckett responds "None of your business Kevin. What do you have on the case?"

"Spoil sport…OK. Your victim is a pretty normal guy. The girl too, but your neighbor Kirk Green is a totally different story"

"How's that?" Beckett asks

"He was not employed in the traditional manor"

"What do you mean Ryan?" Castle asks

"He did not have a regular job. At least not one we can find"

Castle has a funny look on his face "He had a loft in the City and an expensive house here and the sailboat. So where did his money come from"

"That's the strange part. It came from a trust fund account"

"What is so unusual about that? A lot of people get money from family trusts." Beckett responds "I do" She quickly covers her mouth with her hand after letting that little comment out

Castle has a questioning look on his face as he turns to Beckett

But Kevin continues "There is no family to have a family trust. He is an only child and his parents were poor immigrants who came here after the war, settled down in the City and worked at various jobs. He joined the service right out of high school"

Castle speaks next "That sounds like a lot of families of immigrants"

"Right. But while he was deployed in Dessert Storm, his parents were killed in a house fire. Their apartment building burned to the ground and they, along with several others, died. He was then the only survivor in his family"

"Kev, didn't the service not no allow sole surviving son's to go into combat?"

"True, but he joined the Seals and never let them know he was an only child. After his discharge he joined a private security contractor and spent several years working in black ops. There is no detailed record of exactly what he was involved in…"

The voice of Javier Esposito is heard continuing "After my days in the service, I was offered on of those jobs, along with several of my team"

"What happened?" Beckett asks

"Most of them never came back"

This comment leaves a chill in the air

Becket breaks the ice "That doesn't explain the trust fund or where the money came from"

"We tried to track the cash but it went through several off shore banks, bouncing around various companies who's backgrounds are not totally traceable" Ryan fills in

"OK guys. Try to dig as deep as you can. I guess I will see you tomorrow since my comp says are over"

Esposito breaks in "Oh, Beckett . The captain said to tell you that since you are actually working on a NYPD case that you are back on the clock and for you to stay there until you solve the case or really feel like you just need to come back"

Kate looks up at Rick who has a smile on his face like a lion that just finished eating his favorite meal. This brings him a poke

"Thanks guys. We will let you know if we find anything at the Green's house" and Kate punches the end button

Rick seems to have a glint in his eyes and starts to say something "We have time so we need to go…"

She then points her finger straight up in the air directly in Castle's face "DON'T"

"I was just going to say we have time and need to go grab a bite of lunch"

"OK" she turns away so Castle cannot see her face because she is actually happy too, and walks to his car

They leave the front of the police station and head up the highway toward his house

"There is a nice roadside hamburger joint up here. We can grab a to go burger and head back to the house if you want"

She smiles as she leans her head back against the seat. She wants to solve the crime but she is really enjoying the semi vacation too. "It's perfect" and she closes her eyes

Once the burgers are taken home and finished the pair have set up in Castle's Hamptons Study/Office. They set up a murder board that has started to look more like a crossword puzzle. Victim's names linked to locations. Witnesses connected to crime scenes. Strangers connected to next door neighbors

Kate steps back from the large white surface now covered with colored lines and names "Castle…this does not even include the victims back in New York"

Rick looks up from his desk "We need a bigger board"

Castle's comments are interrupted by the door bell ringing Beckett looks in the direction of the front "I'll get it" and she begins her walk to the foyer.

When Beckett at the front arrives, Castle hears the door open swing open and a woman's voice from the past

"Hello Kate…

"WOW" Beckett exclaims "Hello Agent Shaw. What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you, Kate"

"Please come in" Beckett steps aside to allow Special Agent Jordan Shaw to enter. However Kate's mind quickly reminds her that Jordan Shaw was the very first woman that Kate felt jealous about when it came to Castle. He seemed overly interested in her...equipment?

The FBI special agent is as impressed at the opulence of the house as Kate was the first time she came in

She looks directly at Beckett "Well I see that being a New York homicide detective has its perks. Nice place"

Kate smiles while looking over Shaw's shoulder at Rick, who is walking in at that moment "Well, being Rick Castle's fiancé has a lot more perks" Kate points behind Shaw at Castle as he enters the foyer

"Hi Jordan. How are you?" Rick reaches out to shake her hand

Agent Shaw smiles while watching the sparks jumping between Castle and Beckett. She shakes her head as she takes Castle's pro offered hand "I am fine and I must say you two look very fine to me yourselves…Oh, you did say fiancé?"

Kate reaches around Rick "You were right Jordan…he does care about me" looking at his face '"and I am finally ready to accept it"

"Good. Now that we are over that, we can go solve some murders"

"What murders are we going to solve that includes the FBI serial killer unit?" Castle asks

"One is your neighbor Chad and his girlfriend and also over two dozen more murders scattered around the State of New York over the last twenty years"

Beckett looks at the FBI profiler "A Serial Killer?"

* * *

**They do solve murders? Right?**  
**I had to get back to their main job**


	12. Chapter 12

**We get another season YEAH!**

* * *

Beckett directs the woman into the main living area by pointing toward the living area that Rick had just moved from

"How does our case connect to anything in your realm, Jordan?"

The FBI agent smiles as she looks at Beckett and then moves her conversation to the case at hand

"You made some computer inquires that tripped a lot of alarms in Washington and I was sent to see what kind of a forest fire you two have lit up

"What do you mean, Agent Shaw?" Castle asks

Looking toward Beckett "Your agency sent DNA samples into the national data base. Some of them caused some questions to be raised and I was sent to get the answers"

"What samples?" Beckett asks then realizes it was the blood found in the boat

"Your department sent more than a dozen different blood samples for comparison into the FBI's DNA database and they are connected to a number of missing and assumed dead persons"

"Assumed dead?" Castle asks

"Yes" Agent Shaw answers as she sits herself down at a high back chair in Castle's living room

Castle and Beckett sit down beside each other on the couch

"Over the last couple of decades the organized crime, Rico Unit, of the FBI has tracked the activities of the various crime families as they each position themselves for bigger and bigger pieces of the criminal underworld pie"

"I know" Kate responds "We were briefed on the Rico statutes in the academy. When I was a uniformed officer, I encountered several crimes relating to these activities"

"How does our victims in the sailboat tie to that?" Castle asks

"We have a number of open investigations coming from our organized crime division where several high level crime bosses that have simply vanished"

"And do you think our victims were linked to organized crime?"

Jordan answers "Not your victims. But your murder scene. The boat was"

"The boat?" Castle asks

Jordan looks at Beckett "Detective, where did you find the blood samples that were sent to the FBI lab?"

Kate looks down then back to the FBI agent's face "They were found in a secret compartment under the wet bar in the galley of the sailboat"

"A SECRET compartment?"

Kate has a puzzled look on her face "Yeah"

Castle finished the thought "A compartment located below the bar itself. It would be normally concealed but had tracks where the bar could easily be slid over and whatever was in the box exposed"

Kate looks back to Shaw "Are you thinking this was used to dispose of bodies?"

"That is exactly what I think. I think that your neighbor, Rick, was working for someone…someone very dangerous disposing of bodies and doing a very good job of it, I might add"

"Where was he putting the bodies finally" Beckett asks

"That is also a big question"

Castle answers "He could just be dumping them in the Atlantic"

"We thought about that, but unless you take them way out, eventually they wash up somewhere and none of these have shown up anywhere"

Beckett responds to that "So you think that they are buried somewhere?"

"We believe that is a very strong possibility"

Agent Shaw stands up "Look, the FBI lab is going to send me all the forensics they have later tonight or in the morning. I need to go check in a hotel here in town and get a bite to eat. We can continue this conversation in the morning"

Beckett also stands up "Jordan, you can stay here. We have a guest room you can stay in and Castle…" Kate looks at Rick "is an amazing cook. He can fix dinner for all of us. You look like you could probably use a home cooked meal"

"UH… I don't want to intrude on your weekend"

"Our weekend has already been intruded on and you are more than welcome to stay in one of the guest rooms" Castle responds "and we are happy to have you join us for dinner"

"If you are sure?" Jordan asks

"Absolutely" Kate responds

The Special agent goes out to the car to retrieve her carry all. When Jordan returns back in with her bag Kate leads her to the guest wing of the house. After showing the FBI agent the amenities of the room, Kate turns "I will see you back in the living room Jordan" Kate says as she exits out leaving Shaw to unpack

Back in the living area, Kate finds Castle has poured three glasses of wine leaving two of them on the breakfast counter for Beckett and Shaw while holding one for himself

"What are you making?" Beckett asks as she snuggles herself up behind Rick, leaning firmly into his back

"A nice blackened chicken pasta with Cajun cream sauce. It is spicy, just like my girlfriend"

She places her chin on his shoulder looking at the meal being prepared "just a little spicy?"

"You keep that up and the supper will be delayed" he says looking back at her

She whispers in his ear "That can wait. We have company"

He huffs out "Darn it" then turns around to face her "Kate, you drive me crazy, you know that?"

Placing her long fingers around his ear and gently caressing his lobe "That's the idea" she raises herself up and gently kisses him. "It's my way of saying thank you for that video"

"I must have done something really good on it?"

She looks at eyes then to his lips "The best"

The sound of someone clearing their throat startles them out of their love haze

"I can go back to the city if I am in the way" Jordan almost laughs out

The couple breaks apart as Kate turns toward the agent. She grabs the two wine glasses and points toward the living room "Let's go in there and let Castle finish dinner and you and I can talk"

The two women move into the main seating area of the home leaving Castle with his kitchen duties

"So, you finally let this happen?" she indicates she is referencing the connection that anyone around can see

Beckett only smiles to the other woman

"Well, Kate. Tell me all about this" Jordan points around the room "Tell me how you two finally got together"

The two women sit down. Beckett sets her glass on the side table. "It was destined to happen I guess. You work with someone long enough. You are both single. You are attracted to each other…" she pauses and looks toward the kitchen "You care about each other. You look out for each other. You have each other's back"

Jordan finishes her thought "I told you he cared about you three years ago"

"I know. I fought it back then. But you know. It all turned out better this way"

"I can see that" Jordan continues then she points around the room. "This is a lot to take in, Kate"

Beckett smiles to herself "Yeah it is" she looks over to the FBI agent "This is what I was afraid of back then. There is a lot to that man and I felt like I did not belong…" she pauses "But Rick has made sure I understand that he wants me and he belongs to me and I belong to him and we are great together"

"Kate, I saw the video"

"What video?" Beckett asks

"The video where he expresses his love for you, on the boat"

"You saw that?"

"Yeah. You need to tell him"

Kate chuckles "I plan to but, for now, I keep putting him off and it is driving him crazy wanting to know what is on the video"

.

"So you said you were his fiancé? I don't see a ring"

"We haven't gone to get one yet. I just gave him my answer yesterday"

"Oh, so the news reports about him and the latest starlet are wrong?"

Kate has a look of fear on her face "What starlet? When?"

"It was a few weeks ago. Something about a charity event. I was checking the paper for any missing person's reports and there was a story attributed to his publisher"

Beckett chuckles "OH! Yeah. That was a setup. Castle almost shot his agent for dong that"

The two women laugh over the comment

"So Jordan, why did you come out here? You could have waited for me to return to the city or called me to come back"

"There is a good reason for that Kate. This case has taken some very serious and bizarre turns. There seems to be a mole either in the police department, the FBI or DA's office. We keep getting cut off when we get too close to the head of the snake. I was afraid that if I asked about you then I would put you in danger, so I just used your GPS to find you. Imagine my surprise when the coordinates led me to this house"

"Why is that?"

"This is a very expensive house for a New York detective to afford"

"I guess you're right" Kate musses

"Then I did some digging into your past and discovered that actually you might be able to afford this based upon your trust fund"

Kate reaches over to Jordan "Shush...! No one is supposed to know about that"

"You have not told Castle?"

Beckett looks toward the kitchen then back to their guest "Not yet"

"What are you waiting for Kate? He already loves you. He has a lot of money and he needs to know that you definitely are not after his bank account"

"I know, Jordan. I just…I just never felt about anyone like I do about him and I struggle opening up like I need to. But I will"

"Castle steps into the room and announces "Dinner is served" and the two women stand and join castle in the dining room where he has set the table for three

Over the nice Cajon Pasta dish the three discuss what has happened over the last three years but as usual the conversation circles back to the case in front of them

"I thought that Paddy O' Rourke was the main suspect in most of these murders" Castle starts

Shaw sets her glass down on the table "Actually Mr. O' Rourke is a material witness. He is being kept in protective custody"

"That explains why the DA is being so hush, hush about him"

"Exactly" Shaw responds

Castle asks the next question "Does the FBI think these murders are all connected? The mobsters, my neighbor, all the others?"

"We are relatively sure there is some connection but to tie the deaths of crime bosses to family me and in a couple of cases women with families"

Beckett is taken back by the about a woman "What women were involved?"

"There was a legal assistant we believe murdered" Shaw answers

"Chad's girlfriend Edie worked as a legal assistant at a law firm…in fact the firm representing Paddy" Castle responds

"She had no contact with Mr. O'Rourke at work or anyone connected to him or the case, so we are positive there was no connection" Shaw responds between bites "Rick this meal is absolutely delicious"

"Thank Jordan. I aim to please" then he glances at Kate who almost choke on her food

"I am glad to see you still have your little banter between you" Shaw says in a matter of fact manor

After she finally clears the food that was caught in her throat "You said that you believe this goes much higher than a simple turf was between criminal families. Where do you think the investigation will lead?"

"We have some evidence that there is a high level government official involved"

"What evidence do you have?" Castle asks

"We have tracked some activity to a government security contractor called 'World Overwatch'. Several members of that organization have, shall we say, cloudy pasts. These are the type people who are not on the traceable because their backgrounds have been scrubbed"

Rick thinks a moment "This is the type action Javi mentioned"

"Yeah it is" Kate responds

Shaw continues her description "We then discovered this company gets almost all the prime contracts from the government for activities that are not the type jobs most people would want to do. This makes us believe there is someone high up in the government funneling these contracts to them. We tried to track the company ownership but the stockholders identity becomes ghosts and cannot be tracked"

Beckett stops mid bite and then looks at Castle then to Shaw "Jordan, on the video of the murder, one of the shooters says something about the 'Senator' not being happy. Do you think that it is possible that…

The conversation is interrupted by window glass shattering as bullets fly into the dining room from somewhere out on the beach

* * *

**You didn't think I could do an entire story without a little angst, did you?**

**Well maybe a lot of angst!**


	13. Chapter 13

Monday evening's after dinner plans did not include a house full of police, State troopers and FBI along with ATF Agents and telephone calls from Homeland Security.

Not to mention having Castle's dining room shot up along with a section of the side of Castle's house and several pieces of furniture from the dining room.

Fortunately the occupants are shaken but not stirred.

And not injured either.

The house is occupied by virtually every law enforcement officer from the Hamptons Police Department along with several members of the state police force and the ATF and additional members of the FBI Task Force are arriving by the minute.

Outside flying over the ocean are two state helicopters along with a search team combing the beach looking for the shooters nest.

"With as many rounds that were fired at the house, there has to be a large amount of shell casings left out there" Kate states while pointing out toward the beach "They did not have time to police their brass before Jordan and I were out there looking for them"

The state incident commander, Lt. Jackson Perry, enters the house with authority "I am looking for the homeowner" he barks out orders as he is accustomed to doing at crime scenes

Castle moves from the now severely damaged dining area to the entry foyer to greet the newcomer "I'm the owner. Richard Castle" he extends his hand toward the very large, intimidating man

Perry looks Rick up and down before accepting the offered handshake "Mr. Castle, can you tell me what happened her" the trooper points around the area at the devastation

"We had just sat down for diner when the glass begins flying. We did not hear any gunshots so either the shooter was a long way away or…"

The trooper interrupts "They were using a silencer"

Shaw steps up to the two men and opens her credentials "Lieutenant Perry, I am Special Agent Jordan Shaw, FBI I…"

The State Trooper interrupts her statement "Thank you Agent Jordan, but we can take care of this without the help of the FBI"

Not letting the man's size or demeanor intimidate her, Shaw gets right in the man's face "Lieutenant Perry, first off, an attack on a New York Police officer with an automatic weapon justifies the Federal government's involvement. So I you don't want me stepping in and claiming jurisdiction and asking YOU to leave, you need to back off and secondly I was sitting at the table when the shooting started so I was being shot at myself. Just so you understand…I WILL be investigating this case"

Deciding that he might need to change his tactic al little Perry looks at her then at Castle "so the two of you were having dinner when the gunfire began?"

"Rick, myself and his fiancé, Kate Beckett" Jordan points at Kate who is giving her report to Chief Brady and a man wearing an ATF vest concerning the incident "had just sat down to eat when the glass started flying around the room and we hit the deck"

The state officer begins looking at the damage in the room "It looks like the shooter was not very accurate in his targeting. The bullet holes are high on the wall. Was the shooter trying to scare you and not actually hurt anyone?"

Kate, along with the ATF agent walk up to where Rick and Jordan are talking to the trooper. Kate steps beside Castle and puts her arm around his waist holding him tight to her side "We think we were saved because Rick had selected hardened glass for his storm windows"

Lt. Perry has a questioning look on his face "What do you mean?"

The ATF officer responds "We examined the windows and determined that Mr. Castle had selected a very strong glass for his storm windows. The bullets were deflected by the glass when they struck the surface…"

The agent's description is interrupted by the voice of the couple's partner when Javier Esposito along with Kevin Ryan walks up

Esposito continues his information "If the shooter did not know about the hardened glass and multiple layers of protection, he could not adjust his shooting pattern and his pullets went astray"

Castle turns to the two men "Hi guys"

Beckett turns from her partners toward the group "These are our partners from, the are detectives Ryan and Esposito from my New York precinct. Espo is a former special forces sniper"

"That's how you know about the ballistics" The ATF agent comment

"Yeah" is his one syllable answer

The ATF officer continues "Well we will continue to investigate. You three might want to stay away from the windows until we are positive there are no more threats out there" he points toward the beach

Kate shakes her head and looks at Castle "Let's go in your office"

The group move from the dining area that currently looks like a war zone to the home office. Even though the office has windows, they are blocked from the outside world by a screening wall

Once the group enters the room, Castle closes the door blocking their conversation from being overheard by the large group investigating in the other part of the house.

Agent Shaw is taking particular interest in what she sees in the room. The FBI senior investigator is looking around Castle's office taking careful mental notes of the information on the dry erase board. "I see you still do it old school. Have I not taught you two anything?" Jordan laughs out towards Rick and Kate

Kate responds "We seem to be able to solve our cases this way"

Esposito asks the first question "Who do you think was the target tonight? Kate, Rick, you Agent Shaw?"

"Not sure. Since the shooter was spraying the windows, we might have all been targets for all we know" Jordan responds then turns once again to the dry erase board "You have a lot of information on this board, Kate"

"Not enough to solve the case, yet"

The very savvy, determined, woman who has been standing in the middle of the room staring at the murder board turns to the pair "I also have disappearances of city officials, criminal masterminds, drug lords, and in one case an attorney that seems to have no connection to one another, but each time the local law enforcement officers try to find clues either the trail goes cold or the evidence seems to be altered"

She steps up to the board "I think of we connect your information to my cases we might get somewhere"

Ryan has been looking closely at the board "A common denominator was the fact that no bodies were ever found?"

"No bodies at all!" Shaw repeats

"How does that connect to this?" Esposito asks pointing at the murder board

Jordan looks at the two men then points at Castle and Beckett "They found a pathway to have the bodies vanish"

A light goes on in Castle's face "The boat! They used the boat to take the bodies someplace else and dump them"

"We already determined that. They dumped the bodies in the ocean" Ryan comments

"Not at sea" Kate responds "Most people think that dumping a body in the ocean means it will never be found, but if a body is wrapped in restraints, or even wearing cement shoes, when the body decomposes, it will be freed since the bindings are now loose and surface. Bodies usually will wash up. These bodies have never appeared. Anywhere!"

Castle speaks up "No I mean some PLACE. Not just out in the Atlantic. They are buried somewhere. On a stretch of land or…wait! An island! You bury them on a private island. Somewhere that is secluded. Private property. No one can go and stumble onto the corpse".

"You take the bodies and bury them. If they are ever found, decades later, the murderer or mastermind behind all this would be long gone?"

Shaw continues the thought." It would have to be somewhere that is isolated and never be disturbed but are the islands privately owned or are they public lands?"

Castle answers "Most of the islands around here are privately owned. It could be on any one of them"

Kate looks at Shaw "We will never get a warrant to search every private island near enough to hide bodies"

"No! We need to trim down the possible islands and then try to get a warrant"

"That could still be dozens" Castle adds "Why would someone use their own land for this? It will eventually be sold development would happen. I am afraid that a bunch of bodies might be noticed"

They all stand looking at the board when Castle hits on something "what if it on a public island?"

"What?" Kate responds

"You know a public island, like a park…or better yet, A Nature Preserve and there is one about two miles off the shore. It's a nesting ground for the birds"

Shaw looks over at Rick "You're right! A nature preserve will never be dug into because it is protected by law

"And he would never be caught"

Beckett asks "So how do we find out if there are bodies buried on a nature preserve that cannot be dug up?"

Castle grins "We can get Scotty to scan the island"

Kate appears to be annoyed at Castle's comment

Esposito looks at Rick "Castle! This is not Star Trek and Scotty is not on the Enterprise flying overhead"

Castle never changes his smile "No. My neighbor, Bob Scotty. He owns a subsurface radar scanner. He lives down the way. He uses it to look for treasure on the beach all the time. We can get him to help"

* * *

**Hey! No cliffhanger for the weekend**


	14. Chapter 14

**To all the men and women who served in the US military.**

**I thank you from the bottom of my heart**

* * *

The team has decided to retire for the evening. Jordan went to her room and Castle told the guys they could stay for the night instead of returning to the city. The long drive back to New York would be too much for one day especially if they planned on returning the Hamptons next day anyway

He shows the two to their guest rooms and left them to their own for the night

After Castle exited the guest wing, Ryan knocks on Esposito's door "Hey Javi what do you make of this attack?"

Javi looks out the door and up and down the hall then pulls Kevin into his room "Someone is after mom and dad and I don't mean in a good way"

"You think whoever is behind this is after Beckett and Castle and not Shaw?"

"Why would they set up and attack here at Castle's house? If they had wanted Shaw, they would have taken her out on the road or anywhere else"

"What if she were just being extra cautious? You know watching her back. Not being exposed and this was the first chance?"

Esposito looks at the door "That's a possibility. Listen, tomorrow, I am going to call one of my buddies that is still in the unit and see if there is any rumors about an off the books action going on"

"You mean like…?"

"Yeah! Some of the guys have taken jobs after discharge in places I would never go"

"Those type actions actually exist in country?"

"OH Yeah!"

* * *

After making sure the house is locked up tight and the lights all turned out, Castle returns down the hall to the master suite. When he enters the bedroom he finds Kate sitting on the edge of the bed wearing a long terry cloth bath robe and looking concerned

She looks up at him "This is not what I was hoping for when I agreed to come out here and spend the weekend with you"

He sits down beside her and puts his arm around her "I know. Me either"

As she lays her head on his shoulder he kisses the top of her crown "Kate?"

"Hum?" she says

"I love you"

This gets a snuggle from her "Back at ya" she responds

"Listen, I need to grab a shower so…"

Before he can finish his sentence she speaks "me too" She stands up and starts walking toward the shower. Half way there her robe is on the floor and she stops in the doorway to the shower, turns to look over her shoulder, and speaks "You coming Castle?"

Sleep evades all the occupants of the house tonight. Even though the FBI has placed heavy guard around the building. Even with several agents around the property it is impossible for any of them to shut the brain down long enough for the curtain of sleep to descend

It is just past 1:00AM when Rick walks into the kitchen and opens the refrigerator. He takes out a piece of cut pineapple and sits down at the breakfast counter. It is not a minute later that Kate joins him. She reaches over and takes the pineapple away from him and takes a bit then returns the remaining piece to him

"So you think you can just come in and steal my snack?"

She wraps her arm around his bicep "Yup! I think I can"

His eyes are glued to hers "Kate. Just so you know…anything and everything that is mine is yours"

"I know" she kisses his arm but he can tell that something is happening inside her then she says to him "Come back to bed. I need to tell you somethings relating to us"

Once the couple are back in the bed, Kate has set up against the headboard. Her comment and tone has Castle worried. What could she possibly need to tell him that she seems so serious about?

She reaches over and takes his hand and links their fingers together

"Castle…we have known each other for years. We have been partners for years…I have loved you for years" Castle sees tears in her eyes. He hopes she is not planning on doing something rash…like dumping him or giving him some devastating news

"And in all these years I was never completely honest with you about something and I am afraid you would think less of me if I told you this now"

"Kate…anything short of you being a serial killer and you are telling me that I am your next victim…I can live with"

She smiles gently at him "Castle…I am not poor"

"I know"

"I mean I have money"

"I know that"

"I have a lot of money"

"I know that too"

"What do you mean? You know. What do you know? How?"

"Kate?,…you remember our first case? The Tisdale murder?"

"Hum" she responds

"When we talked while looking over the fan mail and I profiled you? I said you came from Manhattan and that meant money"

"Yeah?"

What I didn't tell you is that Paula has been very protective of me and my fortune"

"Yeah she is protecting her investment"

"True! She has always looked at the women around me with a distrusting eye. Every time I dated someone, she would look at their background and determine if they were after my money"

Kate has a puzzled look "We weren't dating"

"No we weren't but after I started following you and you and I were getting very close she looked into your background too"

"So you had me checked out?"

"No. Not me. Paula did it without my knowledge or permission"

Kate is not too happy about that

"So Paula came to me with this file. But I told her I didn't really care. I was learning so much from you that even if you had wanted money, I would have given it to you willingly because I felt like I was paying for an education. An education from the best teacher in the state…maybe the nation"

She uses the opportunity to poke him in the arm "You bum" she chuckles. Obviously not so mad at him anymore

"Why didn't you offer to tell me about this before?" Castle asks

"I honestly didn't know how to start. I mean I had to deal with you sticking your nose into my life and being a giant pain in my…"

"Hey!" he digs back

After a pause "I have been planning on tell you about that. Especially after we got together" She halts in her statement

"Before you came along I never felt like I needed to tell anyone I was dating. But I have been thinking a lot about us lately. You and me. The stuff we went through to get here. Then with all the things happening this weekend…your friends being murdered…the shooting tonight…accepting your proposal…" she leans into him "I knew I needed to open up to you completely. I don't want us to have secrets ever again. No matter how small"

"So do I get are to peel the rest of the Beckett onion now?"

"Well maybe I need to keep a few parts of me hidden after all?"

"Katherine Beckett! You are such a tease"

She kisses him "You know you love it"

"That I do. But will you tell me about the trust fund?"

She takes a deep breath then begins "My mother had a very, very large insurance policy when she died. But since I was only 19 she had set it up in a trust fund that I could not touch until I reached 25. By the time I was able to access the cash it had grown quite a bit because the account executive was a great manager. I had finished the police academy and I was on the job getting my own paycheck that took care of my living expenses. Then I only took what I wanted to buy something extra nice, like clothes…"

Rick interrupts "Or stilettos?"

"Those ARE clothes" she quips and smiles

"Then I bought my first apartment and still left most of the money in the trust still growing. I actually have a nice nest egg…" She turns into Castle and wraps her arms around his neck "just in case I need it if you were to dump me out on the street"

"That will never happen Katherine Beckett. That will NEVER happen. You are stuck with me"

"That's good because if you did that, then you NEVER get to see that video"

"Oh! Does that mean I will learn about what I did in the video?"

She pulls him tighter "I might let you in on that later"

"OK Kate. So you have money

So Mr. Castle is there anything else I should know about you? Like you have a skeleton hidden in your closet?"

"No but I did do something last year that was a really crazy"

"Castle, you do crazy things every day"

"Not this crazy"

Beckett wonders what he might have done that even he is calling crazy "OK Castle! What crazy thing did you do?"

He looks at Beckett and smiles "I asked your father for your hand in marriage"

"WHAT? I was still dating Josh?"

"Yeah!"

"Why did you do that?"

"So when the opportunity came along I could just do what I did"

"Richard Castle! You are crazy"

He pulls her close "Crazy about you"

She responds "I like crazy"

* * *

The next morning begins with everyone in the house already up and having coffee as Castle and Beckett are preparing breakfast. The group have been bouncing theories around the table without moving forward when the knocking on the front door announces the arrival of Chief Brady.

"Chief Brady "Beckett comments as she opens the door and invites the local chief inside. "You want some coffee?"

"Yes. Thank you. Is Mr. Castle here?"

"He is in the kitchen with Jordan and my partners from New York. They all stayed last night"

Brady continues talking as he arrives in the breakfast nook "I am glad everyone is here. I have news. Your neighbor, Sara Green, was found in a motel in Montauk"

"Is she alive?" Castle asks

"Yes and they have her in protective custody. What she has said is that Sammy Yates tied her up and tried to get information out of her about the boat. She told us she really did not know what Kirk had been doing and we believe her"

Jordan steps up "Who is Sammy Yates?"

"Sara left with him and said they were going to Boston" Castle answers

"We think he is one of the shooters we have on video" Beckett adds "Jordan, we need everyone to look the video and see if you know these two men" and she goes to get the laptop from castle's office

Beckett sets up the computer and starts playing the recordings of the murders. As soon as the audio can be heard Esposito bristles.

As soon as the faces appear near the end everyone hears a curse come from Espo's mouth

Everyone looks at the Hispanic detective "Javi, what's wrong?"

"I know them! They were in my unit"


	15. Chapter 15

**Sorry for the delay. Life got in the way and of course my Terror in the Courthouse story came up. **

**I tried to stop it but it wanted out**

* * *

"You know these two men Espo?" Beckett asks with a slight tone of concern

"Yeah. We served together. The guy you said left with your neighbor is Ronnie Westbrook. He was a sniper…like me. The other is Adam Franklin. He was Westbrook's spotter"

"What do you mean, a spotter?" Jordan asks

"While Westbrook kept his scope on the target, Franklin scanned the area for any other threats. He kept the sniper focused on his task while keeping their area safe"

Shaw continues "OK, I understand they were a team but what I want to know is WHY. Why is he involved in an action like this?"

"They were pretty normal guys when we were first deployed. Franklin was a loner. No family but then something changed with Westbrook"

"What happened?" Beckett asks

"Westbrook was married. He sent letters to his wife every day and we did have a chance to make phone calls, he was first in line"

"Then it happened…Well his wife sent him a Dear John letter about 6 months after we were deployed"

Castle responds "That would make a lot of men go off the deep-end. Having their wife dump them like that. Believe me. I know"

Kate looks at Rick and her eyes were filled with questions

When Castle asks "What did he do when that happened"

"He changed. As a two man team they stayed tight, but then they pulled away from the rest of us. These two kept to themselves more so than the rest of the group"

"After the change they didn't socialize with the guys at all. When we went back to base camp to unwind, they seemed to stay on alert. All the time. They wouldn't talk to the rest of us. They stayed away from the poker games. They kept to themselves"

"Was that the norm?" Beckett wonders

"Just like working homicides, when we need to unload after a particularly bad case. The guys in our unit needed to unwind after a mission. So we would play baseball, poker, drink. Some of the guys actually made silly music videos"

Castle laughs "I've seen a few of those. Some of them are pretty funny"

Shaw interrupts "What these two are doing now is not so funny"

"No. It isn't" Castle agrees

Agent Shaw looks at Javier "Detective. You served with these two men. Do you have any idea what they are involved in now?"

He thinks before responding "Agent Shaw, Please understand I am still bound by an oath of secrecy but what I can say is that these two left our unit before the end of deployment. We woke up one morning and their bunks were empty and all their gear was gone. We were told they had been transferred to another division"

"Javi, Is that unusual?" Beckett asks

"In special operations…not so much"

Ryan has been silent thinking about what his partner had said about jobs after military service "Javi, do you think he took one of those off the books style jobs?"

"Yeah, They were the type could"

Beckett asks "Espo, do you have any idea where they went?"

"No, but I still have a buddy assigned with the Special Operations group. I was going to call him today anyway. Let me see what I can get from him and I will let you know what I find out"

Castle places his hand on Esposito's shoulder "Thanks man"

Quietly he responds to Rick "No problem Bro. We protect our own"

The Hispanic detective pulls out his cell phone and makes his call. The rest of the group have sat back down at the table and are returning to the morning coffee

After about 10 minutes Esposito steps back into the room "My guy is going to check and call me back if he finds anything"

"Great" Agent Shaw responds "I am going to go get dressed and she stands up and steps away from the group

"Yeah, me too "Ryan also pushes away from the table. And he moves toward the guest wing of the house

When Castle and Beckett enter the master suite Rick stops Kate and pulls her close to his chest and puts his arms around her. She wraps her arms around his body and relaxes into his chest with her head under his chin "Are we ever going to be safe?" she speaks as she closes her eyes

"Life is not safe" Castle responds "you can get killed by a Gargoyle falling from the roof of a building"

He can feel Kate laugh gently into his chest then she says "or drown in a bathtub filled with motor oil"

"Neither one of us has been stuffed into a wall safe...at least not yet"

She looks up at Castle "with all the threats you and I have out there, I still feel safest when you are beside me"

"Me too" he responds

"So Mr. Castle. The next time you want to take me away, can we leave the rest of the police department back in the city and it just be you and I?"

"Sounds good to me"

Here they are, standing in his bedroom. A bedroom that she never imagined she would ever want to be in, let alone crave to be inside alone with its owner. The events of this weekend have brought more emotions to the surface either one of them wanted to admit

* * *

After getting dressed Castle and Beckett both return to the main room where Shaw and Ryan are sitting at the table talking

As soon as they enter the room Beckett asks "Where's Javi?"

Ryan responds "Just as he opened his door, he got a phone call. I am assuming it is from his friend in the DOD by the way he was acting"

"It was my buddy in DC" Esposito states "He just gave me an earful about the two men we are hunting"

The detective sits down at the table with the others "Westbrook and Franklin were both recruited by a high level officer…"Esposito looks at his notes "A Colonial Garrett Hood" he turns his phone toward Castle and Beckett

"OH" Castle huffs out

Beckett looks at Castle "What's so funny Rick?"

"Remember yesterday morning when all the ATF and local officers were here? A state trooper named Jackson Perry came in and said he was incident commander and tried to take over the case?"

"I remember him" Shaw comments "He was pretty arrogant and wanted to take control of the investigation. I had to pull rank on him" Shaw comments "Then I don't remember seeing him after that"

Beckett looks at Ryan and Esposito then points at Esposito's phone "That is the man we saw. He was wearing a state trooper uniform. He was here when you came in. Did you two see him?"

Ryan answers first "I remember seeing a uniformed trooper but when Javi and I came in he went out the back"

Castle looks at the group "He disappeared as soon as you guys came in"

"I am going to call the state police in Albany and find out if this man was really sent by the state or if he was just here trying to get intel about what we knew" Shaw takes out her phone and leaves the room

There is a knock on the door and Castle leaves the room to greet their visitor. He returns moments later with the local Police Chief. When they enter the room, Beckett looks at the officer "Chief Brady do you have news for us?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. Mr. Castle. Your neighbor, Sara Green, has been a wealth of information. When she left here, she thought it was for a romantic getaway with Sammy Yates, but after they left your place, they met up with two other men. They tied her up and took her to the motel where she was found. They asked her a lot of questions about the boat, but she says she did not know what her husband was involved in"

"Why didn't they kill her?" Beckett asks

"She thinks they were going to but we found her before that happened"

"Did she know where they went?" Castle questions

Chief Brady answers the question "She said that she overheard them talking about coming here to kill all you pointing at Castle and Beckett then toward Shaw

"The only thing that saved her was us finding her using the automated license plate scanner"

"Castle speaks to no one in particular except the room "They are after us but WHY?"

Brady answers "Sara said something about getting the evidence you have"

Castle reaches over and takes Kate's hand into his and holds her tightly "What evidence?" Castle asks

Jordan Shaw returns to the room "No one was sent by Albany and they do not have a lieutenant named Jackson Perry. "


	16. Chapter 16

Agent Shaw takes out her phone and places a call to her deputy director and begins a detailed dissertation as to why she needs additional agents at Castle's house. After a lengthy conversation describing to him what she believes is needed, he agrees to send additional agents and another SSA to help her.

Jordan returns to the main room and walks up to the group "My director is sending a protection team from New York along with another SSA and his team. They will be here in about three hours so until that time we stay inside, away from the windows and doors so to make sure we are all safe"

Beckett turns to Agent Shaw "If we are sequestered inside, I suggest someone go to town and get some food. Castle and I only stocked for the two of us"

Rick adds to the conversation "And I think we need to get my mother and daughter into protective custody"

"Along with my dad" Beckett finished the thought

"Good thinking" Jordan states "I will have the New York team bring them here" she takes her phone out and makes another call

Castle, Beckett, Ryan and Esposito are standing in the living room looking into the damaged dining area

"You know Castle, I never thought about putting tempered, heavy duty glass into a window like that" Espo comment while pointing at the damaged windows "How did you think to do that?"

"I was researching for my book called 'Tropical Storm' when…"

Becket interrupts "You never wrote a book called 'Tropical Storm'"

"It was terrible. I never finished it. Mad scientist trying to control the weather. It began to look like and old Matt Helm book so I abandoned it. But anyway, during my research I got an unfounded fear of tidal waves so I had these windows installed thinking they would protect me from a storm"

Kate has taken his arm "Castle, you are facing the bay, not the ocean. An Atlantic tidal wave would hit the on other side"

"I know. But this had already been done so I just left it"

Ryan speaks next "Well your unfounded fear actually paid off and saved your lives"

"Yes it did save our lives" Castle looks at Kate as he takes her hand into his

The group is looking out from the living room through the dining area to the patio where they see a team of construction workers walk around the yard carrying large panels of plywood. The men begin by first removing the balance of the broken glass and disposing of the shards. They then begin attaching runners to the back of the house in preparation to covering the no glassless openings with wood paneling until final repairs can be made with new glass.

As the main group begins looking around the damaged room Castle and Beckett retreat to his study and as he sits down at his desk, she comes over and sits down on his lap.

She puts her arms around his neck "This just keeps getting weirder and weirder, doesn't it?" She pauses before finishing her statement "You know Mr. Castle you really do know how to show a girt a good time, don't you?"

She lays her head down on his shoulder and he holds her tightly.

"We aim to please Ms. Beckett" and he relishes the feeling of just having her here with him, now

In an unspoken agreement, these two have decided to take this time alone to just enjoy each other's closeness and company. As they sit in silence all the while they can hear the sounds from the outside of workers securing the rear of the house and the others in the living area searching the debris and talking about the next thing to be done on the case

The sound of someone's cell phone ringing brings these two out of their haze. As they return to the main dining area they see the room is in the process of being picked up as the local crime scene group are gathering up items and documenting all the damage

Jordan Shaw steps up beside the couple "I just got a call from my office in DC. They have sent an SSA and his team to assist me" she looks to her notes "A Special Agent Sorenson and his team will be here within the hour"

"Will Sorenson?" Kate asks

"I think so…" She is looking at her notes "yes. Supervising Special Agent Will Sorenson. Do you know him?'

Kate can feel Rick's arm tighten around her at the sound of the name "Yes. I worked a case or two with Agent Sorenson a few years back"

Rick leans into Kate's ear "And he wanted to work more ON you than with you"

"So you two do know Agent Sorenson then?" Jordan asks "Is that a problem?"

Beckett says No as Castle says yes at the same moment

Beckett looks at Castle then she leans in closer to him "OH do I detect a bit of jealousy?"

Castle huffs "ME? Jealous? Huh…double huh"

Kate looks at him and leans to his ear again "I think it's kind of sweet"

"You do?"

"Yes I Do" then in an even lower voice "Just remember that I am not just a one writer girl. I am YOUR one writer girl…and I will be…Always"

Castle has to catch his breath and try to regain his composure

Jordan's phone rings again. She takes the call while standing in front of the couple then begins walking away

Another phone can be heard elsewhere in the house. It appears to be Esposito's. The Hispanic Detective takes the call and he steps away to answer.

Then there is another phone ringing. Castle realizes it is his. He takes it out of his pocket and he and Kate move toward the hallway to get away from the rest of the noise

"Castle… he answers then listens a moment "Where? Do you want us to go there?" There is a pause "OK we will wait to hear from you" he disconnects the call then turns to the Kate "That was Chief Brady. There was a shootout at the hotel in Montauk where they found Sara Green"

"What happened?"

Jordan hangs up her phone and answers Kate's question "The two men came back to the hotel, my team said they assumed that the two were looking for Sara and got trapped in a standoff. We were ready for them. There were local police, ATF, FBI, and state officers"

"What about the two men?" Beckett asks

Agent Shaw answers "They were both killed in the standoff. The my agents there are searching the men's car and possessions right now to see what they can find"

Castle leans over to Kate's ear "So they can send Will back home"

That gets Castle a poke in the chest "Hey, that hurts"

"I'll kiss it well later!" she whispers

"Esposito steps into the conversation my DOD guy said they sent a team to help gather information. I have a little more data. These two were working for an off the books style contractor"

"What's that? Castle asks

Esposito looks around the room then pulls everyone aside "They do jobs no one else is willing to do. They were working at 'Clearsky Resources'. My contact is trying to find out who owns the company. The leadership is fuzzy. But they do know that Garrett Hood, the fake State Trooper was part of the group"

"He is still out there somewhere" Ryan comments

Castle's phone rings again When he answers "Yes Chief…really. That's great news. So you captured him alive?"

Castle looks at the team "Thanks Chief"

"They got him a gas station just up the highway from here. A clerk recognized them from the bulletin that the police sent out to the media and business up and down the Long Island Expressway. They have him in custody"

"Well it looks like we can get some answers finally" Agent Shaw comments.

"I guess we can relax a little" Ryan states

"I wouldn't let my guard down until we know who is behind this and why" Esposito says "not until we know who is at the top of this"

Castle phone buzzes with an incoming message. He looks at the screen. The chief said they found something in the shooters bag. A picture of an object and they want to know if any of us knows what this is"

Castle opens the image and the look on his face tells the story. He definitely knows the object

"What is it Castle?" Beckett leans into his side and looks over his shoulder

He holds the picture up for everyone to see. It is a round object with a brass dial. It looks like it should be mounted to the wall

"It looks like a clock. What is so special about this clock?"

"It is a ship's clock and Kirk Green gave me a clock that looks exactly like this just before he died. I have it in my office"

Castle walks out of the room and returns a minute later carrying the clock. It is an exact copy of the one in the photograph

"He gave me this telling me it was a keepsake from his boat. He had mounted it in the lounge and when he redid the bar it did not seem proper so he gave it to me telling me he wanted me to keep it safe for him. I never thought too much about it then"

Ryan takes the clock from Castle then starts looking at it very closely.

"There is a lens here on the front and what looks like a microphone" Kevin turns the clock around and finds a tiny latch. When he opens it discovers a SD recorder along with microphone and camera connections

"There has to be something on this SD card he wanted you to protect"

Agent Shaw enters the conversation "Maybe that is why Hood was here dressed as a state trooper. He was looking around for this"

Esposito add to the discussion "And when Ryan and I came in he recognized me from the unit and left before he could get to it"

"We need to see what is on that card and why they wanted it so bad" Ryan states

"And why they tried to kill Beckett, Shaw and me" Castle states

* * *

**We are getting closer**


	17. Chapter 17

Castle takes the memory flash card out of the back of the faux clock, hidden camera, and they move into his home office. With everyone standing around the desk, he plugs the portable memory card in to his computer's card reader. The system automatically recognizes the presence of the device but when it tries to read the file on the stick, it is unable to open the files contained on the card.

The system asks for the user to select a program to open the device, but nothing seems to work. Castle tries every media reader program on his machine but nothing works

"What is going on?" Rick comments "I have the latest version of all the software not just the normal media and it should be able to read any device out there"

Beckett whispers under her breath "I bet you do"

"This must be one of those older proprietary devices" Ryan remarks

Beckett looks at Ryan "What do you mean?"

Shaw answers "Over the years several companies made their own systems and developed their own way to store and play the video and audio. This must be one of those. If you don't have the specific software program from the specific manufacturer, it will not work. There is no universal program to use"

"Usually the product came with a disk containing the software and that is what you had to use to review the video" Ryan adds

Beckett steps in "Then we need to send this to Tori and see if she has a way to open the file and can get anything off of this"

"And the FBI cyber division has kept copies of all the players ever used and has specialists if she needs any assistance" Jordan finishes

Ryan takes out his phone and dials the 12the precinct "Tori, its Ryan. We are sending you a video file that we can't read. Can you see what is on it, convert it to something we can all look at and then send it back?"

There is a pause "Great Thanks" Ryan placers his phone back into his pocket "She said send it to her secure e-mail just in case there is a virus on it"

Castle turns back to his desktop computer and after opening the e-mail client he attaches the file and sends it to the technical expert at the precinct

Becket looks at the group and then to agent Shaw "Jordan, do you think we need to go take another look at that sailboat and see what else we can find?"

"No. I think we have all been over that boat so many times there is nothing left to find"

They all hear the sound of the front door opening and the voice of a Broadway diva entering "Richard! Where are you?" comes the voice of Martha Rogers followed by "DAD?" coming from his daughter

"In the study" Castle answers as he is standing and walking toward the sound of the other two women in his life. The two red heads almost attack him the moment they appear in the doorway

"Good to see both of you" he barely breaths out since he is being held tightly by both women

"DAD! What happened?" Alexis is looking at the shot up dining room. We were told that we needed to get here, but they didn't say this happened"

He tries to add a bit of humor to the event "Attack of Hitchcock's birds?"

Martha puts her serious face on "Richard. This is not funny. What Happened?"

Jordan Shaw steps in "Mrs. Roger, Alexis. There was an attempt on our lives but Mr. Castle's forethought of heavy glass windows prevented any injury…"

And before she can finish, Alexis is interrupting "Did you capture whoever did this?" she points into the room

"Yes. We got them" Shaw answers

"What have they had to say?" she continues

Beckett decides to respond hoping her closeness to the family will soften the answer" They were killed in a shootout"

Alexis seems a little frightened by the answer "So you got no answers as to WHY? Why they are doing this?"

"No. But we did locate some evidence that was helpful and we are digging into this" Beckett is trying to stay close to the family. The family that she loves more and more with each passing day

There is another knock on the front door. Beckett looks at Castle "You stay with your mother and daughter. I will get that" and she moves to the entry foyer leaving the rest of the group in the study

When she approaches the front entry, she can see thru the opaque side lights, the figures of at least two people. When she opens the door she is happy to see one of the men but not necessarily the other.

"Hey dad"

"Hello Katie"

"Come in dad"

As he steps inside he reaches around his daughter and she responds in kind "What is going on Katie? They won't tell me anything except that I needed to come with him" Jim Beckett points over his shoulder toward Agent Will Sorenson, who is standing close behind Jim

"Hi Kate" Sorenson begins

"Hello Will" she responds but with much less happiness in her voice than he had in his

"They had me pick your dad up since we had met before and he probably would remember me" He pauses in his statement then finishes "And I was hoping you might be here too"

Jim Beckett remembered all right. The one thing he remembered about Will Sorenson was the fact that Sorenson left his daughter high and dry when he transferred to Boston so many years ago. Jim also remembered how much that hurt his daughter at the time

"Thanks for bringing my dad, Will" Kate is trying to be polite "But we are good now, so you can go"

"I am supposed to report in to Agent Jordan Shaw. Is she here?"

"Yes she is. I will go get her" Beckett turns to her father "This way dad" and she begins moving toward the home office where everyone else is still situated. By the time they arrive in the room, Kate had not realized that Sorenson had followed them.

"Jordan…Agent Sorenson is here and wants to report in with you"

Jordan Shaw looks up from Castle's desk to see the three entering the room "I am agent Shaw…"

"I am SSA Will Sorenson" he puts his hand out toward the other agent

Beckett reacts to Will being so close behind

There is almost a chill entering the room when Castle looks up to see his former nemesis step inside his space and be so close to Kate

Sorenson sees Castle immediately and begins to wonder exactly what is happening "I did not realize Castle was still around" he says toward Kate

"I am more than still around" Rick responds. "This is my house that was attacked with us inside"

"So you two…?" points at Kate then Rick

"Yes Will…WE! We were attacked"

Quickly changing the conversation back to business "I was directed to bring Mr. Beckett here and to render any assistance needed"

Jordan Shaw could see the icicles hanging around the room and chooses to try and soften the issue as fast as possible

"Agent Sorenson, we were just discussing going back to the sailboat where all this started and having you here might just be perfect"

Knowing that they just decided there was no need to return to the boat, Beckett quickly realizes that Shaw is just using this as an excuse to remove Sorenson from the room

Beckett continues "Having a fresh set of eyes might be perfect. I will have an officer from the local police department take you there" and Beckett walks out to the other part of the house and calls for one of the uniforms from the Hampton PD to escort the FBI agent to the docks

After waiting for him to leave, Kate looks at Shaw then says softly "Thanks Jordan"

The FBI agents just smiles back to Beckett

A few minutes later the agents sent to the store to acquire groceries return with several bags containing items that Castle had placed on his list. With the additional members of the family and others, Castle and Beckett are teaming up to make the evening meal.

The dining room has been cleaned enough and the furniture re arranged so that the table can to be set for the group to have a meal

Between Rick and Kate, they have managed to make a nice evening offering of Chicken Primavera over angel hair pasta with rich tomato sauce. A mixed green salad with creamy Italian dressing and fresh fruit gelato

When the crew all enter the room after being called to dinner, Ryan is the first to comment to Castle about the meal "I see now why Beckett keeps you around"

Kate leans into Rick's ear "That is only one of the reasons I keep you around. We will discuss another reason later, when we are alone"

Her comment brings the exact response from him she was going for. His slack jaw face

Just as they all sit down there is another knock on the door. Esposito is closest to the entry "I'll get it" A minute later he returns to the room escorting Lanie

"Am I invited to this party?"

"Hey Lanie" Kate reacts "What are you doing here?"

"It was getting lonely in the city. Everyone else is here"

Castle, being the usual great host, stands and offers his seat to the lady and moves to get himself another one

After the last guest is seated, they begin their dining.

Compliments come from every side of the table including Martha and Alexis "Dad, this is the best you have ever made"

"Thank you pumpkin but it was Kate's recipe tonight" he proudly looks at his girlfriend "I think we make a pretty good team, don't you?"

He can see a blush appear on her face. "And I think I want this team to last for a very long time. Don't you?"

She gives him her smile that seems to go from ear to ear. She looks down at her hands then up thru her eyelashes "go ahead and tell them"

"You sure?"

She gives him a nod of approval

"Kate and I have decided we like this arrangement. Her and me" pointing between them "and she has agreed to become Mrs. Richard Castle"

Cheers and congratulations come from all around the table

Castle makes his way to the wine cooler and opens a couple of bottles of his finest and is pouring glasses all around when Jordan Shaw's cell phone rings. She looks at the caller and it is her director in Washington

Putting on her official voice "Agent Jordan Shaw"

Pause

"No sir, we have been having dinner"

Pause

"No sir, we have nor seen any TV or radio"

Pause

"Yes, sir I understand. Total lockdown and media blackout. Yes sir. I will inform the agents outside"

She stands from the table "These is something going on and it is focused on the 12th Precinct"

"What is it?" Beckett asks

"The director did not give me any details but he told me to lock this place down and to get everyone together so you can all be protected"

Castle has moved to his office and turned on his television. He switches to the ZNN News channel and can tell that the reporter is in New York and the banner headlines at the bottom of the screen are reporting a lock down at the 12th Precinct in New York and the FBI are surrounding the building with a protective detail.

Watching the screen they can all tell that agents are entering and leaving the building freely so it is not a hostage situation or barricaded suspect but the building is being guarded closely

There is a knock at the door and Agent Shaw opens the door to find additional agents reporting in and telling her that the security perimeter is being reinforced to protect the occupants against a credible threat on their lives

* * *

**I may wrap this up in one or maybe two more chapters**


	18. Chapter 18

The group has crowded around the television screen on the wall in Rick's office. For the last few hours all the reporters have done is to re hash the same incomplete information over and over. Never adding anything new to the story

Every fifteen minutes or so Ryan and Esposito alternate in dialing into the precinct to try to get information but each time the calls have been diverted to a central information desk where they are told by an operator that there is no information to be given out at this time

It odes not help that they are detectives at that station, they are given a brush off

Jordan Shaw's phone rings and she steps away to answer. Everyone hopes that she will get more answers since none of them are having any luck

She comes back into the study and asks Kate and Rick to join her in another room.

The three move into the master suite where she closes the door. Agent Shaw is not one to mix words and is always ready to give out information quick like pulling off a band aid. The quicker the less painful

"Kate…there was something on the video from the boat that is very damning toward some people very high up"

Castle looks at Shaw questioning "What do you mean?"

Beckett continues "OK and why the lockdown? The precinct? Us here? What is the reason?"

"There is video of some very high ups in the police department and other places plotting assassinations, fraud, they are not sure of all the crimes yet, but this is headed way up the chain"

"Did you say inside the department?"

"Yes. The Justice Department and US Attorney General's office has taken over the investigation. They have a special unit headed up by an Agent Stack and his team. We are waiting for them to get into place and there will be simultaneous raids in several cities. There are going to be some arrests that go so far up the chain it stops just below the White House"

"That's why the news blackout?" Beckett wonders

"Yes" Shaw responds

"What about the station? All of my co workers? Are they in danger? "

"They don't think so. The precinct was locked down because Tori unlocked the video and then sent it immediately to the internal affairs unit who called in Justice. All this happened in a few short hours" Shaw answers, then she takes a deep breath "Kate, I need to tell you something about all this"

Castle and Beckett have questioning looks on both of their faces

"There is a connection to your mother's murder"

Castle wraps Kate in his arms. He can feel her muscles tighten as he does so. He can tell she wants to pull back from him, but he is not letting her. He had promised her that they would eventually find her mother's killer but they just did not know when. He also remembers that she told him that when the murderer was found she wanted him with her when they did.

And he is here Now!

Her face goes pale then flame red appears on her skin as the anger finally rises to the top

"What do you mean, Jordan? What connection?"

"There is a lot of video on that flash card and they are still gathering information. There is a team in DC working on it as we speak.

"What kind of information?" Rick asks while still holding Beckett close to his side

"There is references to corrupt cops and drug dealers and gangsters, There are murder plots and disposal of bodies"

"Is that where my neighbor, Kirk came in?"

"Yes. He was the disposal guy. Bodies that needed to vanish were brought to him and he took care of getting rid of them"

Kate takes in a breath "Why would they do that? Why didn't they just leave the corpse where they fell? The cops spent less time looking into the case when it was one gang killing another"

"Intimidation is the simple answer. Just like Jimmy Hoffa's body was never found. They made sure some others were never seen again"

"So Castle's thinking it is on that island is not such a crazy idea" Kate states

"We have already had a team over there on the down low."

Castle asks "Did they find anything?"

"Yes. There were dozens of returns on the ground penetrating radar indicating that there is something buried there. We are just waiting for the Department of the Interior to allow for the ground to be dug up, but the forensics teams believe they are sold hits"

Kate finally asks the question "And what about my mother? What did she have to do with this?"

Castle feels Beckett pull him in tighter. She is no longer trying to get away

"Her killing was ordered by a drug dealer but it was sanctioned by someone higher up…"

"By whom?"

"Senator William Bracken…before he was a senator, he was the DA in New York at the time"

Tears are flowing on her face "WHY? What did she do to him? She was not even criminal a lawyer. She never worked cases against him"

"We believe it was because she stumbled onto a cover up regarding one of his criminal enterprises. She somehow got too close to him and they killed her for it"

"Has he been arrested?" Castle asks

Jordan looks at her watch "It is all going down right now"

Beckett looks up to Castle's face "We have to go tell my dad"

He steps away from her but keeps a hold of her hand and pulls her toward his study

When they enter the room they see everyone is glued to the TV with reports coming in from field reporters in New York and DC. The banners reporting the co-orientated raids at the New York police headquarters and in the capital at the senate office building

When the three step in the room, Esposito turns "Are you seeing this?" then he can tell Kate has been crying "What's wrong Beckett?"

She walks beside her father "Dad, Can we talk?" and she pulls him out of the room. Castle offers to join them but she indicates for him to wait a few minutes and let her tell her father in private

Lanie is concerned ""What's going on Castle?"

He waits until the father, daughter pair is out of range before answering

"Her mother's killer is one of the one's being arrested"

"WHAT?" Ryan is shocked

"Senator Bracken is at the top of a private murder incorporated ring and Kate's mother was one of its victims"

OH! WOW!" Lanie responds

Rick finishes "So we need to give her all of our support now"

"Esposito looks at Castle "Bro, you have been her support pillar for a time now. I think she is going to be good"

He looks out to the hall where he knows the father and daughter are sharing "I hope I am enough"

* * *

**I think I can wrap this up in one more.**  
**I hope so**

**I want it to finish strong**

**_And sweet_**


	19. Chapter 19

**Last Chapter Finally**

* * *

The planned days spent in the Hamptons filled with romance and alone time and love time and quiet time together never fully emerged but instead have spiraled down into a dark dank place of terror

After the initial words delivered by Agent Shaw. The non stop news reporting from all the major news outlets did nothing to bring the spark back to Castle and Beckett

In fact, if anything, the news events reported and unending telephone calls from every reporting agency, world wide, have done nothing but interrupt any and all chances for intimacy

By the end of the second day of non stop telephone ringing and questions, the phones for, the most part have finally grown quieter.

But she has sunk down into a pit and no matter how hard Castle has tried to reach into Kate's psyche, she has not allowed him to come close. Her, and her dad have both been somewhat distant from everyone else. They retreated into another world. They talk to each other in whispers when there is no one else around

She has not offered to touch even be near Rick and, in respect for her, he has been tempered in his attempts to try and offer affection knowing he will be rejected.

As much as he loves her and truly believes she loves him, he has become afraid this demon that had lived dormant inside Kate for all these years has awakened and is just too large to overcome

They received the latest news report from the Justice department that all the employees of Clearsky Resources are in custody or have been accounted for from the top field operative to the office staff including the receptionist. All the perceived threats have been neutralized

The most recent briefing included the repots of the arrest of the senator and his aide. A deputy chief of police and three other retired officers. The evidence on the video that had been in Castle's possession for so many months had proven to be the death knoll for a lot of powerful people

After the word came down from the Justice Department that the incident could secure, the security detail began packing and the large group of agents packed their gear and began departing. Team by team until there were only a handful of agents wrapping up the last details

Kate has retreated out on the back veranda looking out to the ocean. Sitting outside feeling the sea breeze on her face, Beckett thinks about how much she once wanted to enter the legal profession and possibly, one day, move up to a place of prominence such as DA or even higher in public office. But now, after seeing the corruption that seems to surround that place she just does not know anymore

The first ten years after her mother's death was filled with the same level of angst she is feeling once again. She has come so far in the last four years, but now she is thinking about how easily it would be to just shrink back into the shell she had existed inside for the previous ten years after her mother's murder and not come back out

She had moved away from that place of pain. At least she thought she had, but now she is not so sure

The door opens and someone comes out to sit beside Beckett.

Lanie Parish places a cup of coffee into Kate's hands and drops herself down next to her best friend "Well, girlfriend. How are you?" Lanie knows full well how bad Beckett is doing since Lanie had watched Kate during the lowest part of her life. Lanie can see that Beckett has dropped down there to that place once more

"I thought I had moved past all that. I thought my life was moving toward a better place…then this happens" Kate says to no one in particular

"What happened Kate? They caught the guy who killed your mother so now you and your dad finally have closure"

"I know Lanie. I should be feeling relief"

"So why don't you?"

Kate is staring out to the ocean "I had tried to put her death into a box and close the lid. That way it would not affect my feelings toward…" she stops in her statement

"Toward Castle?"

"Yes" she speaks softly

"Kate? Why do you think you have to pull open the lid of that box?"

"Having her murder come back to the top makes me wonder how much I would hurt if something happened to Castle. I don't want to ever feel that way ever again"

"How are you feeling now?"

"I am scared"

"Of what? Exactly. You know that man will never do anything to hurt you. At least not intentionally"

Kate looks off onto the water. The waves crashing onto the shore like the waves inside of her

"Lanie, I need to talk to Rick" And Beckett rises and walks into the house

When she reaches the study she finds Castle reading a book. She tries to stay quiet and not disturb him, but it is almost like he can feel her aura entering the room. He has become so attuned to her that he can actually feel her presence.

He closes his book and turns to face her. She sits down at the chair opposite his desk

She takes a deep breath before speaking "You remember the other day on the porch when I told you we needed to talk?"

"Yeah" is his one word answer

"I said it would wait until the case is over?"

"Yeah"

"The case is over"

He is beginning to feel deep concern

She looks out toward the windows then toward the bookcases "Castle? Is this what I would expect from now on with you? Murders, shootings, dead bodies on boats and evidence inside inanimate objects?"

Taking another pause "If we were together this is how it would be for us all the time?"

"Yeah?" He responds now becoming worried that she is changing her mind about them since she is using the term 'IF WE WERE TOGETHER'

Her next sentence begins "I need to tell you something…" then is interrupted by a knock on the front door. She looks toward the entry "go ahead"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah" she responds

Castle quickly stands and walks to the entry and swings the door open wide. Standing on his front porch is a tall, leggy, large breasted blond

"HI Rickey" comes the voice of a woman that Kate recognizes. She quickly stands and walks in the direction of the front door

"Hi Joy" Castle choke out "What are you doing here?"

"I saw all the people here at your house and thought you might be having a party and I just wanted to see if I could bring something too"

Kate Beckett knows exactly what that woman has to offer and she is not going to let that happen.

As what took place before Kate steps around Castle and wraps her self into his side "Hey, Babe. Are we expecting company?"

The blond is obviously not pleased to see another woman attached to Rick "Oh I guess the party is over?"

Kate looks at Castle "The party is just getting started. It is our engagement party"

The large blond chokes out "Engagement party?"

"Yes, Castle asked me to marry him and I said yes"

"OH! Well then I will leave you two to whatever you two are doing" and the woman turns and wiggles her way down the drive

Kate looks up at Castle "You were right!"

He has a question on his face "Right? Right about what?"

"They do get bigger every time she shows up"

Rick first does not seem to understand then it hits him. When he said those exact words about her. He also remembers what else was said that day. The words he said about Kate

"Is that the video you saw?"

She just smiles up at Rick then lays her head on his chest

He chuckles "I will try to never boring"

She wraps herself around him tightly. "I don't want our marriage to ever be boring"

"It that so?"

"Yeah. That's how I want it" realizing his worries from before are unfounded

"Me too" he kisses her head then she looks up to make the kiss lip to lip. And it rapidly gets deeper

Halting the lip lock "So Mr. Castle…before this kiss gets too heated where we can't stop, don't you think we need to get started on that marriage?"

"You want to get married now?"

"I think we waited too long to get here. Both of our families are here. And our best friends. I don't want to wait any more. Do you?"

"Let me go call the magistrate"

* * *

**Thanks to all my readers and reviewers  
I will try to do an epilog**


	20. Epilog

Castle gathers all the family together including the work family. He tells the group that he and Kate needed to take a quick trip into town for some items and for everyone to wait until they got back and that he and Kate had something very important to share with everyone when they get back

Beckett is actually feeling like this is a dream. A dream she never wants to awaken up from

As soon as they pull out of the driveway and in to the main road, they were on the phone with the police chief asking him if he could arrange an official to perform the ceremony and where could they go to get a marriage license Chief Brady is thrilled to hear that one of his residents is adding a new permanent resident to the rolls of citizens, although weekend and holidays only.

Brady tells Castle to not worry about the license and that he will see to it that one is ready and will be brought out by the local justice of the peace when he comes to perform the ceremony. Kate and Castle both thank Brady before hanging up on the call

Their first stop in town is at the local jeweler. Even though he can afford anything under the glass they both select modest matching wedding bands. Her ring must be sized down since her finger might be extremely long but it is also very tiny in circumference. Before leaving they make sure that the store will have the resized rings ready so they can pick it up on their way back home later

After making the first stop at the town's jeweler, these two take to the task of getting some flowers and a cake.

In picking up a pre-made cake at the local grocery store turned out to be more fun than they anticipated. They both got a good laugh from the decorator since she had never had sold an already made cake and then had ordered for the decorations done for a bride and groom for a wedding to be performed within the next few hours

Then the next stop was the flower shop and picking out some floral decorations for the wedding. The florist also was somewhat shocked to learn the purchase was for a wedding that was occurring almost as soon as the two returned to the house

Kate tells Rick she needs to acquire a wedding dress. Something casual but more formal than the shorts and blouses she brought, then before Castle can open his mouth and make a silly remark "And NO! I am not wearing that bathing suit for my wedding outfit"

Castle almost drives off the road when she says that

"And besides you said you did not want that suit seen by anybody"

They head down the Strand and stop at a dress shop that is the favorite of all the women in town. Kate tells Rick that he has to stay in the car while she selects something. Fortunately she is able to spot the perfect dress almost immediately after she steps into the store. A nice sundress. Not too short, but very flirty. Flirty like she is feeling right now

The last stop they make is back to the jewelry store to pick up their wedding rings and head back out of town and Castle's house.

During the trip back to the house, Kate leans her head back against the neck rest and closes her eyes. She is actually feeling giddy about what they are getting ready to do. Giddy like a teenage girl getting ready to go to the prom with the most popular boy in the school

She reaches across the front console and grabs Rick's hand and pulls it across to her leg. She opens her fingers and takes his hand into her own. She then looks over to Castle

"Rick"

He looks across the front of the car toward her and sees something in her eyes that is mesmerizing "Yeah?"

"I Love you!"

"Back at ya!" he responds

There is a moment of silence in the car

"Castle?" she has a giggle in her voice "Are we really doing this?"

"That's the deal Ms. Beckett…wait that name will be changing to Castle before today is over"

She closes her eyes and a sweet, happy smile slides crosses her face

When they pull in the driveway and stop at the front of the house, Castle takes the cake out of the back as Kate grabs her dress and carries it inside.

No one is in the kitchen when Castle places the cake on the counter. He returns to the car and gathers the flowers and brings them and places them beside the cake

Just as Rick turns he almost collides with Lanie Parish as she has moved back into the house from the back yard

"What are you doing writer boy?" then she looks at all the flowers and then takes in the cake

With a voice filled with total shock "YOU ARE NOT?" then up at his face where she sees his happiness "Yes you are! Where is Kate?"

"In the bedroom" Castle points toward the master suite. Lanie turns and rushes out of the kitchen and down the hall

"Girlfriend! Where are you?" Lanie is almost screaming at her best friend as she enters the master suite

Kate steps out of the dressing room just as her best friend clears the doorway "Hey Lanie. What's going on?"

"No girlfriend. You tell me what's going on. I saw the cake and flowers"

"And what about them?" Kate strings Lanie along "Castle thought a delicious cake would be nice for dessert and the dining room needs a little color"

Lanie smirks at Kate and she just shrugs her shoulders but the happiness is present all over Kate's face

"So this your decision? Because two hours ago, you were concerned at this thing with Castle was not going to work out…and now? You two are getting married?"

There is a moment of silence then Lanie continues "You must be crazy"

"I am crazy Lanie. Crazy about that man out there and I am not going to keep my life on hold any longer.

Lanie rushes up to Beckett and pulls her into a hug "OH Girl! You're getting married!"

* * *

The blue sky is peppered with high wispy clouds and a soft gentle breeze is drifting in from the ocean making the early afternoon just perfect for the event being scheduled. The afternoon sun is lowering in the sky and all their friends and family gathered on the lawn.

Instead of being seated on chairs, the witnesses are gathered surrounding the couple. Alexis standing beside her father along with his mother. Lanie Parish standing for Beckett. Kate's father holding his daughter preparing to give her hand to her soon to be husband.

They are before the justice of the peace and he begins the ceremony basing his words only on the requirements of law and nothing more personal. But he has been told that the couple wishes to repeat their own words of promise to one another

Rings are placed, the final words spoken by the official pronouncing that Katherine and Richard are now one in the eyes of the law

Husband and Wife

In spite of attempts to encourage the guests to stay, they all say that they need to return to the city for tomorrow brings more work for them and honestly they believe in giving the couple some privacy

Fortunately Beckett, has been given a few extra days off to compensate for her working on the investigation and also to keep her sequestered from the press a few more days until the news stories diminish

* * *

The morning sun passes across from the windows and splashes across the opposite side of the bedroom and creeps down the walls to reach the eyes of the occupants in the bed.

The two newly married occupants

When the light reaches her eyes her brain passes from its deep slumber state into an awakened and alert world.

Before moving, she gently rolls her thumb across the ring on her left hand then she rolls over to be greeted by a pair of blue eyes and a ruffled head of dark hair.

"Good morning Mrs. Castle" he speaks as he pulls her body against his

Moving willingly into him she replies "Good morning Mr. Castle"

He reaches up to her face and gently slides his finger across her cheek causing her eyes to close as she enjoys the feeling it brings to her

"So Mrs. Castle. You have until next Monday off. We have five days before we need to go back to the city. What would you like to do today? Go shopping? Walk along the beach? Swim in the ocean? Have diner at one of the seaside cafes?"

She rolls over on top of Castle and places a kiss on his lips "I have other plans and none of them require getting dressed"

"Hummmmmm!"

* * *

**See all of you next time**


End file.
